Lebanon Doctor Convicted of Federal Drug Distribution Charges Following Two Week Jury Trial

Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A medical doctor who operated two rural healthcare practices in Lebanon, Virginia was convicted today of federal drug and healthcare fraud charges. First Assistant United States Attorney Daniel P. Bubar and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring made the announcement.

Following more than two weeks of trial in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Dr. Dwight L. Bailey, 65, of Lebanon, Va., was convicted of all 63 counts charged against him. Bailey, who operated Family Healthcare Associates of Southwest VA and Ridgewood Health Care Clinic, was convicted of illegally prescribing drugs to his patients.  Evidence at trial established that Dr. Bailey and the other providers in his office continually wrote prescriptions for opiates, benzodiazepines, and sleeping pills to patients who were clearly misusing, abusing, and diverting those controlled substances.  Most of the patients at Bailey’s clinic were receiving an opiate and/or a benzodiazepine.  Bailey’s income from his clinic and work at the emergency room topped $750,000 in a single year. 

Specifically, Dr. Bailey was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute schedule II controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, one count of conspiracy to distribute schedule III controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, one count of conspiracy to distribute schedule IV controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, one count of conspiracy to distribute suboxone, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 24 counts of distribution of schedule II controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, three count of distribution of schedule III controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, 32 counts of distribution of a schedule IV controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, and one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of distributing controlled substances.

“This conviction underscores our office’s commitment to holding healthcare providers, who put greed above the safety of their community and patients, accountable for their role in the opioid crisis,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bubar. “As a top priority, we will continue to vigorously prosecute those responsible for causing opioids to devastate our communities.”

“Prescription drugs have played a major role in the ongoing opioid crisis in Virginia and medical professionals who illegally distribute these highly addictive drugs need to be brought to justice,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “My team and I have worked hard to bring enforcement action against hundreds of medical professionals who have overprescribed, distributed or stolen prescription drugs as part of our approach to combating the opioid crisis. I want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s office for their partnership in this case.”       

Sentencing is scheduled for January 3, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. before United States District Judge James P. Jones in Abingdon.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Virginia State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorneys/Virginia Attorneys General Janine Myatt and Nicole S. Terry and Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer.