Pill Mill Doctor Sentenced To Nearly Four Years For Role In Opioid Distribution Conspiracy

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell has sentenced Anil Sahijwani (43, Tampa) to 45 months in federal prison for illegally prescribing oxycodone, Adderall, and other controlled substances. The Court also ordered him to forfeit his DEA registration number, $182,266.66, and the value of a personally owned Porsche, all of which constitute proceeds of the offenses, or which were used in furtherance of the offenses.

Sahijwani pleaded guilty on February 23, 2017.

According to court documents, Sahijwani worked at Family Medical Express Center, Inc. in Brandon, Florida, along with several co-conspirators. He and his co-conspirators implemented a plan to sell unlawful prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances to people who did not need them and who instead diverted them for sale in the community on a per-pill basis. In some cases, Sahijwani wrote prescriptions at the request of his co-conspirators in the names of people he had never examined or met. Sahijwani also sold prescriptions for oxycodone out of his car in a Tampa parking lot. During the course of the conspiracy, Sahijwani wrote unlawful prescriptions for over 18,000 oxycodone pills.

“As law enforcement addresses the ongoing opioid crisis, it is unconscionable that a physician would be part of the Pill Mill problem that has left its indelible mark on the Tampa area and the country,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright. “DEA, and our law enforcement partners, will remain vigilant in finding these unscrupulous medical professionals and clinics and see to it that they are prosecuted accordingly.”

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel George.