August 09, 2005

NEWS RELEASE:

APALACHICOLA PHYSICIAN INDICTED ON DRUG AND FRAUD CHARGES
ARISING OUT OF IMPROPER DISPENSING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

TALLAHASSEE -- Gregory R. Miller, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida; Charlie Crist, Florida Attorney General; Tom Gallagher, Florida Chief Financial Officer, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent In Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration - Miami Division; Guy Tunnell, Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Robert Cromwell, Special Agent In Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation - Jacksonville Division; Spencer Levine, Director, Florida Attorney General's Office Medicaid Fraud Unit; and Mike Mock, Franklin County Sheriff, today announced that a Federal Grand Jury has returned an Indictment charging an Apalachicola osteopathic physician with wire fraud, health care fraud, and distribution of controlled substances.

In a one hundred count Indictment, the Federal Grand Jury in Tallahassee charged Dr. Thomas G. Merrill, age 69, of Panama City, Florida, with:

1. eighteen counts of wire fraud,
2. six counts of defrauding health care benefit programs, including five counts that charge that death resulted from the violation.
3. seventy-six counts of dispensing or distributing controlled substances including oxycodone, commonly known as OxyContin, Percocet, and Percodan; morphine, commonly known as Kadian or Avinza;

hydrocodone, commonly known as Lorcet, Lortab, and Vicodin; fentanyl, commonly known as Duragesic; alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax, and diazepam, commonly known as valium; including four counts that charge that death resulted from the use of the drugs distributed - oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl.

The Indictment charges that:

MERRILL, a licensed osteopathic physician practicing at Magnolia Medical Clinic in Apalachicola, prescribed controlled substances to patients without performing a physical examination and without determining a sufficient medical necessity for the prescription of controlled substances.
MERRILL prescribed excessive and inappropriate quantities of controlled substances to patients outside the usual course of professional practice, and caused his patients to fill prescriptions at various pharmacies, thereby causing payment for those prescriptions from Medicaid, Tricare, and other health care benefits programs to pharmacies filling the prescriptions issued by MERRILL.MERRILL prescribed quantities and combinations of controlled substances to patients but failed to monitor the use and abuse of the prescribed controlled substances by the patients.
MERRILL prescribed controlled substances in quantities and dosages
that would cause patients to abuse and misuse the controlled substances.
MERRILL prescribed controlled substances to patients knowing that the
patients were addicted to the controlled substances or misusing the controlled substances and wanted additional quantities of controlled substances for the patient's drug habit.
MERRILL continued to prescribe addictive controlled substances notwithstanding prior overdoses by the patients on the prescribed drugs and the receipt of information that particular patients were abusing their controlled substances, were selling their controlled substances, were addicted, or were "doctor shopping".
MERRILL prescribed controlled substances to patients that resulted in the deaths of six patients from the use of the prescribed controlled substances.
MERRILL caused Gulf Pines Hospital to submit false and fraudulent claims for medical services and procedures allegedly provided by MERRILL at Magnolia Medical Clinic to various health care benefit programs, including Medicaid, Tricare, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield, for payment and reimbursement, and that MERRILL caused pharmacies that filled prescriptions for controlled substances issued by MERRILL to submit claims to various health care benefit programs for payment and reimbursement.

The Indictment also seeks the forfeiture of property of defendant MERRILL.

The defendant was arrested by federal and state agents this morning on a federal warrant based upon the charges of the Indictment. The defendant will make
his initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge on the charges this afternoon in Panama City. If convicted on Counts 39, 65, 69 and 78, the counts charging the distribution of oxycodone, morphine, and fentanyl with death resulting from the use of those controlled substances, defendant MERRILL faces a mandatory minimum term of 20 years imprisonment, a maximum of life imprisonment, and a fine of $1,000,000, on each count. If convicted on the five health care fraud counts that charge the violation resulted in deaths of the patients, Counts 20-24, MERRILL faces a maximum term of life imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000 on each count.

This indictment and arrest are the result of a law enforcement initiative assembled last year by Governor Jeb Bush in conjunction with the United States Attorneys in the three federal judicial districts in Florida to target pharmaceutical drug-related crimes across the state. The initiative consists of Diversion Response Teams (DRTs), which are comprised of agents and investigators from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) of the Florida Attorney General's Office, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Additionally, law enforcement agencies involved in health care fraud task forces such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other interested state, local and federal agencies participate on an ad hoc basis in the DRTs.

The DRTs are tasked with investigating state and federal violations of practitioners and providers which result in the fraudulent prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances. The DRTs focus on diversion of prescription drugs from lawful
channels of distribution; the filing of fraudulent claims with the Florida Medicaid program to pay for the cost of filling unlawfully acquired prescriptions; and the filling and distribution of these prescription drugs by pharmacies.

Since July 2004, four regionally-based DRTs have been located in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tallahassee. Currently, DRTs are being established in Tampa, Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, and Pensacola.

United States Attorney Miller commended the tireless efforts of investigators of the agencies involved in this complex investigation, and praised the cooperation of citizens and pharmacists who alerted investigators to excessive prescribing of highly addictive controlled substances by MERRILL.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist stated: "Medical doctors take an oath to ‘first do no harm.'" Attorney General Crist added, "this indictment charges that Dr. Merrell provided dangerous drugs to patients who have no medical need for the drugs and, in some situations, contributed to the death of patients. Team work by all of the agencies involved has lead to this critical arrest."

Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher stated, "insurance fraud is becoming increasingly complex, costly and dangerous." "But working together, we can fight back against these criminals and hit back hard. This arrest sends a strong message that we will not tolerate such abuse of our citizens."

"This indictment is the result of the hard work of many federal, state and local law enforcement officials over a period of a few years," noted FDLE Commissioner Guy Tunnell. "We extend our thanks and appreciation to our law enforcement partners, and we pledge to work with them on the equally difficult cases that will confront us in the future," Tunnell said.

Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Mark Trouville stated: "The indictment unsealed today shows that a doctor who illegally prescribes narcotics from the confines of his office can be prosecuted the same as a drug dealer selling narcotics from any street corner in America." SAC Trouville added, " Federal, state, and local agencies working together made a difference today."

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.