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U.S District Judge Kenneth Mara sentenced Steven Goodman to 2 ½ years of home confinement with four years of probation afterwards for his involvement in running a prescription “pill” mill. Steven was a part of a large pain clinic operation in which he supplied over 1 million oxycodone pills to illegal clinics. Those illegal clinics were operated by the notorious Wellington twins: Jeff and Christopher George. Steven Goodman was also ordered to pay a fine of $25,000 and close his pharmacy wholesale business within two weeks. He lost his license to distribute narcotics months ago and is expected to full lose his ability to distribute any drugs.
Goodman was remorseful for his crimes and asked Mara for leniency:
“I was a fool. I was stupid. I knew better than to sell to doctors at pain clinics, but I did it,” he said. “I disgraced myself, my friends and my profession. I am truly sorry for what I’ve done.”
In March of 2010, the wins and 31 co-conspirers were arrested in this case with charges including but not limited to murder, fraud, and racketeering. The George’s hired physicians off of Craigslist to fill prescriptions; built pharmacy’s to fill the prescriptions, and rain their steroid telemarketing business out of a mobile MRI business that operated behind a strip club. The whole thing just sounded like something out of a movie. In the end they sold over 20 million prescriptions, made $50,000 a day, and were responsible for the deaths of 56 people from overdoses. This was probably the biggest and most sophisticated local prescription drug ring Palm Beach County has ever faced.
Judge Mara sentenced Jeff George to 15 ½ years and his twin brother, Christopher to 17 ½ years in prison for their crimes. It is estimated that the brothers served roughly 500 drug dealers and addicts daily and that the five doctors he had on payroll made about 1 million dollars each.
This was a horrific example of how serious and dangerous prescription pill addiction is. There were 56 deaths from overdose linked back to this pain clinic and so far Jeff George has been charged with second degree murder for only one of those overdoses. In the end no one wins and families are torn apart.
If you or someone you love needs help for their prescription drug addiction please give us a call 24/7 at 800-951-6135.
Sources:
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/pill-mill-kingpin-chris-george-gets-17-12-year-sentence