MAY 2 0 2015

KSC: USAO# 2015R00358

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CRIMINAL NO. 111 J (-.7

v.
DONALD RUSSELL,
BRUCE KEVIN LEWIS,
DANIELLE SILBERSTEIN,
PETER SNYDER,
ROBERT LONG,
JAMIE DAVIS,
RONALD TENNYSON,
TERRELL DOWNING,
JOHN FIELDS,
RONALD RUST,
RONALD KANS,
WALTER MOFFETT, and
MELISSA CATLETT,

15

(Conspiracy to Distribute and Possess

with Intent to Distribute Oxycodone, 21
U.S.C. 846; Health Care Fraud, 18
U.S.C. 1347; Aiding and Abetting, 18
U.S.C. 2)

Defendants.
.oOo.
INDICTMENT
COUNT ONE
The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland charges that:
Introduction
1.

Beginning in or about February 2014 through in or about May 2015, Defendants

DONALD RUSSELL and BRUCE KEVIN LEWIS owned and operated PG Wellness Center,
LLC ("PG Wellness"), a purported pain management clinic located within the District of
Maryland, and A Plus Pain Clinic, LLC ("A Plus Pain"), a purported pain management clinic
located within the District of Columbia. In reality, PG Wellness and A Plus Pain operated as "pill
mills." A pill mill is a physician's office, clinic, or health care facility that routinely engages in

the practice of prescribing and dispensing controlled substances outside the scope of professional
practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
2.

Defendant RUSSELL ran the day-to-day operations at A Plus Pain and defendant

LEWIS ran the day-to-day operations at PG Wellness. They hired and supervised employees, and
approved and directed financial transactions on behalf of the companies. They also split the
profits from the businesses evenly. DOCTOR 1 has been the prescribing physician at PG
Wellness since February 2014. DOCTOR 2 has been the prescribing physician at A Plus Pain
since approximately August 2014.
3.

Members of the conspiracy such as defendants Danielle SILBERSTEIN, Peter

SNYDER, Robert LONG, Terrell DOWNING, Ronald RUST, Ronald KANS, and Walter
MOFFETT each acted as "distributors" who brought a number of "runners" to the clinics. A
runner is an individual who is recruited by a distributor to enter pill mill clinics with fictitious
complaints of pain in order to obtain prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances, primarily
oxycodone. Runners typically then filled the prescription and gave the oxycodone tablets they
received to the distributor. Runners were typically paid in either cash or oxycodone tablets for
their services. The distributors then generally sold the pills for a profit. Several also sold pills or
prescriptions back to members such as RUSSELL and LEWIS.
4.

Jamie DAVIS and Ronald TENNYSON served as runners and worked with LONG

to fund additional visits to pill mill clinics and distribute the pills obtained during those visits.
5.

John FIELDS was a runner who dealt directly with RUSSELL in order to obtain

oxycodone pills and distribute them.

6.

Danielle SILBERSTEIN and Melissa CATLETT regularly purchased bulk

quantities of oxycodone pills from RUSSELL.

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Background
7.

Beginning in no later than February 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS owned and

operated a pain management clinic called PG Wellness, and located at 5620 Saint Barnabas Road,
Suite 340, Oxon Hill, Maryland. PG Wellness was operated as a pill mill. In or about February
2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS hired DOCTOR 1 to serve as the prescribing physician at PG
Wellness. They have paid DOCTOR 1 up to $1,500 per day.
8.

Beginning in no later than August 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS owned and

operated a pain management clinic called A Plus Pain Center, and located at 6323 Georgia
Avenue, NW, Suite 105, Washington, D.C. A Plus Pain was operated as a pill mill. In or about
August 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS hired DOCTOR 2 to serve as the prescribing physician at A
Plus Pain. They have paid up to $1,300 per day for DOCTOR 2's services.
9.

In or about October 2014, SNYDER arranged to open his own pill mill clinic in

Salisbury, Maryland.
Controlled Substances General Terminology
10.

The Controlled Substances Act governs the manufacture, distribution, and

dispensing of controlled substances in the United States, including narcotics that are prescribed by
physicians and other licensed health care providers. The Controlled Substances Act and its
implementing regulations set forth which drugs and other substances are "controlled substances."
Controlled substances are assigned to one of five schedules, Schedule I, II, III, IV, or V, depending
on their potential for abuse, likelihood of physical or psychological dependency, accepted medical
use, and accepted safety for use under medical supervision.
11.

Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1), provides that "[e]xcept as

authorized by this subchapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally
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. . . manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or

dispense, a controlled substance."
12.

Title 21, United States Code, Section 802(10), provides that the term "dispense"

meant to "deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user . . . by, or pursuant to the lawful order
of, a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering of a controlled substance and the
packaging, labeling, or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for such delivery."
13.

Title 21, United States Code, Section 802(11), provides that the term "distribute"

means to "deliver (other than by administering or dispensing) a controlled substance or a listed

chemical."
14.

Title 21, United States Code, Section 802(21) provides that the telin "practitioner"

means "a physician . . . or other person licensed, registered, or otherwise pelinitted . . . to

distribute [or] dispense . . . a controlled substance in the course of professional practice."
15.

Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1306.04, provides, among other

things, that a prescription for a controlled substance is valid if it is prescribed for a legitimate
medical purpose by an individual practitioner acting in the usual course of his professional
practice. Moreover, an order purporting to be a prescription issued not in the usual course of
professional treatment or in legitimate and authorized research is not a valid prescription within
the meaning and intent of Title 21, United States Code, Section 829, and the person knowingly
issuing it shall be subject to the penalties provided for violations of the law relating to controlled
substances.
16.

The DEA issues registration numbers to qualifying practitioners, who are

authorized to dispense Schedule II, III, IV, or V controlled substances. A practitioner must be in

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compliance with all state laws regarding the practice of medicine and the prescribing of medicine
in order to receive and maintain a DEA registration number.
17.

The term "Schedule II" means that the drug or other substance has a high potential

for abuse, the drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the
United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions, and abuse of the drug or
other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
18.

Oxycodone is a narcotic, opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine and is

classified as a Schedule II controlled substance. It is sold in generic form. and under brand names
including Oxycontin, Percocet, Roxicodone, Roxicet, and Endocet. When legally prescribed for
a legitimate medical purpose, oxycodone is used to treat moderate to severe pain. However, even
if prescribed for a legitimate medical purpose and even if taken in the prescribed amounts,
oxycodone can cause physical and psychological dependence.
19.

The discipline of pain management is an accepted and recognized medical

sub-specialty practiced by physicians throughout the United States. Legitimate and qualified pain
management experts have specialized knowledge, education, training, and experience and utilize a
multi-disciplinary approach, which sometimes includes, among other things, prescribing Schedule
II, III, IV, and V controlled substances within the scope of the prevailing standards of professional
practice and with a legitimate medical purpose. A prescription for a controlled substance,
however, violates the Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations if it is issued
outside the scope of the prevailing standards of professional practice and without a legitimate
medical purpose.
20.

Oxycodone is frequently abused because it is a highly addictive narcotic that gives

the user a "high" equivalent to heroin. Users who abuse pills containing oxycodone frequently do
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so by smoking, chewing, dissolving, injecting, or crushing the pills and then ingesting the
substance. These methods result in a more immediate high because they allow the active
ingredient to more quickly enter the user's system. Abuse of oxycodone can lead to overdose
and, in some cases, death. The risk of overdose and death is increased if oxycodone is abused
along with certain other prescribed controlled substances, such as Alprazolam. Similar to other
illegal narcotics, oxycodone is sold by drug dealers to addicted users, typically for approximately
$1 per milligram.
THE CHARGE
21.

From at least February 204, up to and including the date of this Indictment, in the

District of Maryland, the defendants,

DONALD RUSSELL,
BRUCE KEVIN LEWIS,
DANIELLE SILBERSTEIN,
PETER SNYDER,
ROBERT LONG,
JAMIE DAVIS,
RONALD TENNYSON,
TERRELL DOWNING,
JOHN FIELDS,
RONALD RUST,
RONALD KANS,
WALTER MOFFETT, and
MELISSA CATLETT,
did knowingly and willfully combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with each other and others
known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully distribute and
possess with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing oxycodone, also known as
Oxycontin, Percocet, Roxicodone, Roxicet, and Endocet, a schedule II controlled substance, in
violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1).
21 U.S.C. 846

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OBJECTS OF THE CONSPIRACY

22.

It was the object of the conspiracy to profit from the illegal distribution of

oxycodone.
23.

It was further the object of the conspiracy to have prescriptions for oxycodone

issued to individuals without a legitimate medical need so that they could either use them to satisfy
an addiction or to re-sell the pills for a profit.
24.

It was further the object of the conspiracy to charge hundreds of dollars for each

prescription and require customers to pay cash to obtain their prescriptions. Members of the
conspiracy also profited from this by charging individuals to fill the prescriptions at area
pharmacies and selling the oxycodone pills obtained from the prescriptions on the street.
25.

It was further the object of the conspiracy to recruit new members of the conspiracy

to serve as additional runners and as the distributors who would bring those runners to the pill mill
clinics, in order to generate larger profits.
MANNER AND MEANS OF THE CONSPIRACY
26.

Among the manner and means used by the defendants and other co-conspirators to

carry out the object of the conspiracy were the following:

a.

It was part of the conspiracy that members established pill mill clinics in

Maryland and Washington, D.C. to provide drug addicts, runners, and distributors with places
where they could obtain fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone.
b.

It was part of the conspiracy that members who were operating pill mill

clinics hired doctors to write prescriptions for oxycodone at those clinics and encouraged the
doctors to limit the extent to which they checked for legitimate medical need before prescribing
oxycodone.
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c.

It was part of the conspiracy that members who were operating pill mills

used recruiters to identify and hire doctors to prescribe oxycodone.

d.

It was part of the conspiracy that members who were operating pill mills

paid recruiters a recurring fee (during the term of employment) for any doctors employed by the
pill mill clinics.
e.

It was part of the conspiracy that members who were operating pill mill

clinics required runners to have certain "paperwork," generally a magnetic resonance imaging
("MRI") report and a prescription history, in order to include that in the paperwork in the runner's
file to support a false claim that there was a medical need for the prescription of oxycodone.
f.

It was part of the conspiracy that members worked with a radiology clinic to

ensure that runners and distributors had a source for MRI reports that could be used to substantiate
false claims of medical need for oxycodone.
g.

It was part of the conspiracy that members who were operating pill mill

clinics created false paperwork for runners who were unable to obtain MRI reports or prescription
histories that would provide a basis for requesting a prescription for oxycodone.
h.

It was part of the conspiracy that members who were operating pill mill

clinics charged runners hundreds of dollars in cash to obtain prescriptions for oxycodone.
i.

It was part of the conspiracy that members kept the profits from pill mill

operations and the sales of oxycodone in cash.

.1.

It was part of the conspiracy that members conducted transactions and paid

debts in cash or using financial vehicles that were difficult to trace, such as Green Dot cards.
k.

It was part of the conspiracy that members also "fronted" the office visit and

pharmacy costs to runners and distributors with the understanding that they would be re-paid later.
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1.

It was part of the conspiracy that members encouraged runners to visit

multiple clinics in order to obtain additional quantities of oxycodone.

m.

It was part of the conspiracy that members checked the state prescription

drug monitoring program ("PDMP") databases to determine whether runners would be caught
going to multiple pill mill clinics.
n.

It was part of the conspiracy that members encouraged runners who had

been caught going to multiple clinics to return to their pill mill clinics and told them what to say to
obtain prescriptions from the clinic.
o.

It was part of the conspiracy that members recruited additional distributors

and runners (such as LONG and DAVIS) from Maryland and other states (such as Ohio) in order
to increase the number of prescriptions sold and the profits.
p.

It was part of the conspiracy, that pill mill clinics PG Wellness and A-Plus

Pain Center saw approximately 400 individuals per month and sought to increase those figures
significantly.
q.

It was part of the conspiracy that members took steps to circumvent PDMPs

in Maryland and surrounding states to ensure that distributors and runners could obtain multiple
prescriptions for oxycodone from different doctors.
r.

It was part of the conspiracy that members directed distributors and runners

to fill prescriptions in Washington, D.C. and not Maryland because Washington, D.C. did not
have an active PDMP system so the prescriptions would not be reported there.
s.

It was part of the conspiracy that members directed distributors and runners

to fill prescriptions in states other than Maryland that had active PDMP systems (such as Delaware

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and Virginia) because individual state PDMPs were not connected so prescriptions filled in those
states would not show up in the Maryland PDMP system.
t.

It was part of the conspiracy that members explained to distributors and

runners that runners would not be able to obtain a new prescription at the pill mill clinics if they
filled another prescription that month that appeared in the Maryland PDMP system.
u.

It was a part of the conspiracy that members worked with area pharmacies

to ensure that the large volume of runners would have locations where they could regularly get
large quantities of oxycodone.
v.

It was part of the conspiracy that members encouraged area phamiacies to

not enter prescriptions into the PDMP system.

w.

It was a part of the conspiracy that members kept track of which pharmacies

had supplies of oxycodone and were willing to fill prescriptions for runners.
x.

It was part of the conspiracy that members verified prescriptions that they

knew were illegitimate when pharmacies would call the pill mill clinics.
y.

It was part of the conspiracy that members tracked online databases, such as

Maryland Judiciary Case Search, to determine whether other members had been arrested.
z.

It was part of the conspiracy that members, including Danielle

SILBERSTEIN, Peter SNYDER, Robert LONG, Ronald RUST, Ronald KANS, and Walter
MOFFETT, took multiple runners to pill mill clinics in order to obtain prescriptions for
oxycodone.
aa.

It was part of the conspiracy that members told runners how to fill out

paperwork at the pill mill clinics and what to tell the doctors at the pill mill clinics to ensure that
they would receive prescriptions for oxycodone.
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bb.

It was part of the conspiracy that distributors and runners obtained

prescriptions from multiple pill mill clinics.

cc.

It was part of the conspiracy that runners filled prescriptions for oxycodone

(generally in quantities of 112 or 120 30mg pills) from the pill mill clinics regularly at pharmacies
in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Delaware, and other states in order to avoid detection by
the state PDMPs.
dd.

It was a part of the conspiracy that members sought to have prescriptions

filled quickly so that it appeared that the prescriptions were addressing a legitimate medical need.
ee.

It was a part of the conspiracy that members operating the pill mill clinics

sought to decrease the price of office visits and increase the number of oxycodone pills prescribed
to each patient in order to lure distributors and runners away from other pill mill clinics.
ff.

It was part of the conspiracy that members "fronted" pills to other members

so that they could sell the pills and pay for the pills once they were sold.
gg

It was part of the conspiracy that members sold oxycodone pills for a profit.

hh.

It was part of the conspiracy that members would distribute oxycodone pills

to each other in order to satisfy customers.

ii.

It was part of the conspiracy that members provided each other with money

to cover the costs to obtain prescriptions of oxycodone and fill them at pharmacies.
OVERT ACTS
In furtherance of this conspiracy and to effect and accomplish the objects of it, one or more
of the defendants or conspirators, both indicted and unindicted, committed, among others, the
following overt acts in the District of Maryland and elsewhere:

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1.

On or about February 2014, Defendants RUSSELL and LEWIS opened PG

Wellness so that runners and distributors had a location to obtain prescriptions for oxycodone.
On or about February 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS hired DOCTOR 1 at PG Wellness.
2.

In or about August 2014, Defendants RUSSELL and LEWIS opened a second pill

mill clinic, A Plus Pain Center.

3.

On or about August 27, 2014, Defendants LONG and DAVIS went to A Plus Pain

Center and DAVIS obtained a prescription for oxycodone.

4.

On or about August 29, 2014, TENNYSON provided LONG with $2,100 so that

LONG could pay the costs to obtain additional supplies of oxycodone for LONG and
TENNYSON to distribute.
5.

On or about September 23, 2014, KANS visited multiple pharmacies in an attempt

to fill prescriptions for oxycodone and arranged to provide pills to another individual so that they
could be sold to a customer.
6.

On or about September 23, 2014, RUSSELL explained to KANS that paying $600

to fill a prescription for oxycodone was worth it if KANS could ultimately make $1,000 from the
prescription.
7.

On or about September 23, 2014, during an intercepted conversation, RUSSELL

explained to SNYDER the difficulties caused by the implementation of PDMP programs and that
he would just limit the doctor's ability to check the system: "I'm just gonna teach her that she
can't do that... be looking every day."
8.

On or about September 23, 2014, RUSSELL agreed to purchase a runner's

oxycodone prescription from MOFFETT if he was unable to get it filled.

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9.

On or about September 24, 2014, RUNNER 3 had an appointment with DOCTOR

1 to obtain a prescription for oxycodone. During that appointment, DOCTOR 1 told RUNNER 3
that DOCTOR 1 had 80 "cheaters" among her patients. During an intercepted conversation,
RUSSELL said, "Yeah its way more than 80," and explained that DOCTOR 1 had seen 480 people
and that she had caught more than 1/3 of them getting prescriptions from two doctors.
10.

On or about September 24, 2014, RUSSELL and KANS discussed how to avoid

detection when obtaining oxycodone prescriptions from multiple doctors. During an intercepted
conversation, RUSSELL said, "You just gotta keep 'em separate, you know one in VA, one in DC,
and one in MD."
11.

On or about September 24, 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS arranged to reduce the

price of visits for certain runners who were considering going to another pill mill clinic where the
doctor was prescribing a few more pills in each prescription.
12.

On or about September 24, 2014, a runner working for MOFFETT obtained a

prescription for 20 mg oxycodone from A Plus Pain Center. During an intercepted conversation,
RUSSELL explained to MOFFETT that "[the runner] said the doctor told her that the MRI wasn't
showing much of anything and she only gave her a script for 20 mg not 30."
13.

On or about September 25, 2014, RUSSELL explained to DOCTOR 2 the problem

with another clinic providing patients with more oxycodone pills in each prescription. During an
intercepted conversation, RUSSELL said, "they give out one twenty [at another clinic]. I said
nobody's gonna leave and get eight less, I almost said, you know that's two hundred dollars, that's
so fucking stupid, I swear I almost said it...."
14.

On or about September 26, 2014, LEWIS told RUSSELL that he spoke with a

runner and told him not to worry because, "the minute you bring it up to Maryland, you ain't going
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to jail.... I said I can tell you that ... there's not enough jails in freaking the state of Maryland for
this."
15.

On or about September 26, 2014, MOFFETT arranged to have a runner get an MRI

report and obtain a prescription for oxycodone from A Plus Pain Center. During an intercepted
conversation, MOFFETT identified the runner and RUSSELL said, "he knows a little bit about
this game so give him some good money...," and MOFFETT said, "I'm givin' him more than I'm
givin' everybody else."
16.

On or about September 27, 2014, RUSSELL arranged for MOFFETT and

RUNNER 7 to come together to A Plus Pain Center to obtain oxycodone prescriptions.

RUSSELL agreed to cover the costs of the office visit. During an intercepted conversation,
MOFFETT said RUNNER 7 was "a nice addition to my stable. I'm gonna have about 11 or 12
solid pacers that are gonna handle their business." RUSSELL encouraged MOFFETT to find
other runners who could come to the clinic.
17.

On or about September 28, 2014, RUSSELL agreed to buy a prescription back from

MOFFETT, after they discussed how much could made from the prescription.
18.

On or about September 29, 2014, RUSSELL arranged to cover the costs of certain

runners' office visits at PG Wellness, if they were cooperating with RUSSELL.

19.

On or about September 30, 2014, DOWNING tried to fill a prescription for

oxycodone at several pharmacies, including PHARMACY 2, and RUSSELL instructed

DOWNING that he could only fill the prescription in Washington, D.C.
20.

On or about October 1, 2014, LEWIS called RUSSELL to arrange to keep

RUSSELL' s associates from calling the office to "rat out" a runner to DOCTOR 1. RUSSELL

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said that he would and noted that they were just jealous because "you know what I do with them
all. Well now he branched out and he is getting what he should."
21.

On or about October 1, 2014, LEWIS and RUSSELL divided the $45,000 profit

from PG Wellness for the month of September. They discussed how slow business had been the
past few days and RUSSELL said, "you know no matter at the end of the day I mean you look at
that how many get 20 20 thousand and we're bitching about it."
22.

On or about October 2, 2014, RUSSELL instructed MOFFETT that he would have

to start paying the clinic and pharmacy fees for his own runners because RUSSELL did not want to
front him the money anymore.
23.

On or about October 2, 2014, during an intercepted conversation, RUSSELL

instructed DOWNING to fill an expired prescription at PHARMACY 2 and arranged to provide

DOWNING with $300 to pay for the cost to fill his prescription.
24.

On or about October 3, 2014, during an intercepted call, RUSSELL accused

MOFFETT of taking drugs and asked about the money from prior prescriptions that MOFFETT
owed him. During an intercepted conversation, RUSSELL said, "you're out drivin, what the fuck
if you get pulled over and they get that [prescription] bottle? No matter what it's an
investigation...."
25.

On or about October 4, 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS agreed to limit certain

relatives of LEWIS to visiting just one clinic because it had become known that certain relatives
were going to other clinics, however, RUSSELL and LEWIS agreed that only these relatives
needed to be restricted to one clinic.
26.

On or about October 4, 2014, LEWIS sought to arrange an MRI report for a runner

from another clinic who had already obtained a prescription history.

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27.

On or about October 6, 2014, LEWIS picked up a prescription from PHARMACY

2 in the name M.F. that RUSSELL had dropped off instead of one in the name B that LEWIS had
dropped off. As a result, RUSSELL agreed to pick up the prescription for B that LEWIS had
dropped off so that LEWIS could keep the prescription for M.F.
28.

On or about October 7, 2014, RUSSELL instructed SILBERSTEIN to obtain pills

from LEWIS because she had not gotten any pills from him in a while. SILBERSTEIN explained
that LEWIS had told her that he would not have pills until the 4th.
29.

On or about October 14, 2014, KANS arranged to sell oxycodone pills for

$1,500-1,800 to two people in Mechanicsville, MD who had what he described as "a house full of
fucking money and pills." RUSSELL said that getting anything over $1,700 per bottle would be
good. KANS explained that his step brother had been getting $2,200 per bottle and RUSSELL
explained that was because he was selling the pills individually and not wholesale.
30.

On or about October 15, 2014, RUSSELL instructed SNYDER and another

distributor not to stay in A Plus Pain Center with runners so as to not raise the doctor's suspicion.
31.

On or about October 16, 2014, SILBERSTEIN sought to purchase oxycodone pills

from RUSSELL and arranged to bring several runners to A Plus Pain Clinic to obtain
prescriptions. RUSSELL told SILBERSTEIN that she would need to coach the runners on what
they needed to tell the doctor about the fake prescription histories. SILBERSTEIN said that she
had explained some of it to them, including that they would need to pay for the fake prescription
histories.
32.

On or about October 16, 2014, LEWIS advised SILBERSTEIN that if she filled a

prescription that day anywhere other than in Washington, D.C. she would not be able to get a
prescription from PG Wellness the next day. During an intercepted conversation, LEWIS said, "I
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told her she can't fill this today, I told her if you fill this today...anywhere other than DC, you're
not going to be able to go tomorrow."
33.

On or about October 16, 2014, LEWIS and RUSSELL arranged to have a runner

who had been discharged from PG Wellness for seeing multiple doctors become a patient at A Plus
Pain Center.
34.

On or about October 16, 2014, LEWIS and RUSSELL discussed the pharmacies

where they had arrangements for filling oxycodone prescriptions. During an intercepted
conversation, LEWIS said that PHARMACIST 1 "wants to talk to us.... [A runner] said he wants
all your patients.... [PHARMACIST 1] told [the runner] you get everyone together and I'll work
out a deal." RUSSELL and LEWIS agreed to go together to meet PHARMACIST 1.
35.

On or about October 16, 2014, RUSSELL arranged to recruit additional runners

from another pill mill clinic, even if he was unable to purchase the oxycodone pills from them for
re-sale.
36.

On or about October 16, 2014, RUSSELL met with PHARMACIST 1 and

PHARMACIST 1 agreed to fill 100 oxycodone prescriptions per month for RUSSELL and
LEWIS at a cost of $620 in cash for each prescription, as long as each oxycodone prescription was
accompanied by a prescription for ibuprofen so that the prescriptions appeared more legitimate.
37.

On or about October 18, 2014, RUSSELL arranged to have a distributor bring

seven new runners to A Plus Pain Center approximately a month after the distributor had been
discharged from PG Wellness for seeing multiple doctors. During an intercepted phone call
LEWIS said, "I think she just got thrown out...just last month...but that's ok." RUSSELL said,
"We don't care where they come."

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38.

On or about October 19, 2014, RUSSELL confirmed that RUST would have

appointments at both A Plus Pain Center and PG Wellness that week. RUSSELL also advised
RUST that he had a pharmacy where he could fill the prescriptions (i.e., RUSSELL said, "I got a
place you can take it right to and they don't check nothin.").
39.

On or about October 21, 2014, RUSSELL explained to SNYDER that his pill mill

clinics could make him $1.8 million a year in net profit if he was able to see 14 patients per day at
each clinic.
40.

On or about October 23, 2014, RUST arranged to provide RUSSELL with

oxycodone pills that evening at RUSSELL' s house because he did not want to "ride around with
that shit man if I don't have to."
41.

On or about October 23, 2014, RUSSELL arranged for MOFFETT to come to A

Plus Pain Center the next day to get a prescription for oxycodone and they discussed the
economics of selling prescriptions. RUSSELL explained that MOFFETT could still profit
$1,000, even if he had to pay $660 to the pharmacy.
42.

On or about October 24, 2014, RUSSELL encouraged PHARMACIST 1 not to use

the PDMP system. During an intercepted conversation RUSSELL said, "I don't want you to
because it don't help nobody by doing, you know what I mean'?" and PHARMACIST 1 responded,
"Yeah I understand what you're saying." PHARMACIST 1 confirmed that he would also fill
prescriptions from PG Wellness.
43.

On or about October 27, 2014, RUSSELL "fronted" the costs of doctor visits at PG

Wellness and A Plus Pain Center to runners.

44.

On or about October 27, 2014, FIELDS asked RUSSELL to provide him with a

replacement for an expired prescription for oxycodone.

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45.

During the week of October 30, 2014, a distributor brought approximately 15

runners to A Plus Pain Center. On or about October 30, 2014, LEWIS and RUSSELL agreed to
allow the distributor or her boyfriend to obtain an oxycodone prescription for free in exchange for
all the business that she was bringing to A Plus Pain Center.
46.

On October 31, 2014, KANS and a runner went to PG Wellness and A Plus Pain

Center and the runner obtained prescriptions. On the same day, RUSSELL told KANS that
DOCTOR 2 allowed RUSSELL and others to check the PDMP system for her. RUSSELL also
explained that DOCTOR 2 had come to him about some of RUSSELL's "buddies" going to
multiple clinics and that RUSSELL acted like he did not know them. KANS said, "I guess
apparently
47.

she don't ever look at me...."

On or about October 31, 2014, a distributor brought eight runners from Ohio and

western Maryland to A Plus Pain Center.

48.

On or about October 31, 2014, RUSSELL and LEWIS discussed the profits from

that month at A Plus Pain Center of $4,400 4,500 and the profits from PG Wellness of
$48,000-50,000. They talked about hiding the money and the things that authorities had done
when examining other pill mill clinics.
49.

Between February and October 2014, $178,464 in cash deposits were made into PG

Wellness Center, LLC's TD Bank account.

50.

Between July and October 2014, $25,200 in cash deposits were made into A-Plus

Pain Center, LLC's TD Bank account.

51.

On or about November 1, 2014, LEWIS told the runners that he would stop

"fronting" the costs of them obtaining oxycodone.

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52.

On or about November 18, 2014, RUSSELL convinced DOCTOR 2 to tell a

pharmacist who had caught SILBERSTEIN going to three different doctors, to give
SILBERSTEIN back the oxycodone prescription that she tried to fill and not to call the police on
her. RUSSELL also suggested that SILBERSTEIN fill the prescription at PHARMACY 1 and be
careful. The next day, RUSSELL coached SILBERSTEIN on how to explain to DOCTOR 2 why
she got caught getting prescriptions from multiple different doctors. During an intercepted
conversation, RUSSELL said, "Look when you go back in there, you gonna have to say look, you
know, I was seeing two because I really need, you know, I need more...."
53.

On December 1, 2014, FIELDS obtained a prescription for oxycodone from PG

Wellness and confirmed with RUSSELL that he would be going to A Plus Pain Center the next
day.
54.

On or about December 3, 2014, CATLETT arranged to deliver $1,500 to

RUSSELL as payment for 75 oxycodone 30 mg pills that he had fronted her.

55.

On or about December 5, 2014, RUSSELL filled a prescription for oxycodone at

PHARMACY 1 in the name of a runner. RUSSELL then sold a portion of those oxycodone pills
to SILBERSTEIN.

All in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846.

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COUNT TWO
The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland further charges that:
1.

Paragraphs 1-20 and 22-26 of Count One are realleged and incorporated by

reference as though fully set forth herein.

The Scheme to Defraud
2.

From on or about January 2, 2014, and continuing through on or about April 6,

2015, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere, the defendants,

DONALD RUSSELL, and
JONATHAN FIELDS,
did knowingly and willfully execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud a
health care benefit program in connection with the delivery of and payment for health care
benefits, items and services.
3.

It was part of the scheme to defraud that the defendants, in order to obtain payments

from a health care benefit program, would submit or cause to be submitted claims seeking
reimbursement for prescriptions that were fraudulent in that the prescriptions were for oxycodone
that was not necessary to treat any medical condition.
Manner and Means
4.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendants fraudulently

claimed medical conditions so that doctors would prescribe large quantities of oxycodone 30 mg
tablets.
5.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendants presented and

caused to be presented to pharmacies in the District of Maryland fraudulently obtained

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prescriptions in the name of a person who was a member of a health care benefit program who had,
in fact, no medical need for the controlled substance listed on the prescriptions.
6.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that when the defendants submitted or

caused to be submitted fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacies, they presented and caused to be

presented health insurance cards.
7.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendants submitted or

caused to be submitted pharmacy claims to health care benefit programs for the dispensing of
controlled substances that were not supported by legitimate medical need.
8.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendants obtained the

controlled substances in order to re-sell them for a profit.

9.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that, on or about November 7, 2014,

RUSSELL pressed FIELDS to use his insurance to fill prescriptions for oxycodone.
10.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that, on or about December 1, 2014,

RUSSELL advised FIELDS to take new prescriptions for oxycodone to the same phat 'lacy where
he had successfully used his insurance in the past.
The Charge
11.

On or about the 18th day of November, 2014, in the District of Maryland, the

defendants,
DONALD RUSSELL, and
JONATHAN FIELDS,
for the purpose of executing and attempting to execute the above-described scheme and artifice to
defraud a health care benefit program as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 24(b), to
wit Medicare, in connection with the payment for health care benefits, items, and services, did

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knowingly and willfully submit and cause to be submitted by New Era Pharmacy & Variety
Outlet, LLC, 1444 Addison Rd S, Capitol Heights, Maryland, a fraudulent claim for dispensing
112 tablets of Oxycodone 30 mg, a controlled substance, knowing said claim to be fraudulent, in
that the prescription was not for a legitimate medical need.
18 U.S.C. 1347
18 U.S.C. 2

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COUNT THREE
The Grand Jury for the District of Maryland further charges that:
1.

Paragraphs 1-20 and 22-26 of Count One are realleged and incorporated by

reference as though fully set forth herein.

The Scheme to Defraud
2.

From on or about February 24, 2014, and continuing through on or about March 30,

2015, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere, the defendant,

WALTER MOFFETT,
did knowingly and willfully execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud a
health care benefit program in connection with the delivery of and payment for health care
benefits, items and services.
3.

It was part of the scheme to defraud that the defendant, in order to obtain payments

from a health care benefit program, would submit or cause to be submitted claims seeking
reimbursement for prescriptions that were fraudulent in that the prescriptions were for oxycodone
that was not necessary to treat any medical condition.
Manner and Means
4.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant fraudulently

claimed medical conditions so that doctors would prescribe large quantities of oxycodone 30 mg
tablets.
5.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant presented and

caused to be presented to pharmacies in the District of Maryland fraudulently obtained

prescriptions in the name of a person who was a member of a health care benefit program who had,
in fact, no medical need for the controlled substance listed on the prescriptions.
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6.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that when the defendant submitted or

caused to be submitted fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacies, they presented and caused to be

presented health insurance cards.
7.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant submitted or caused

to be submitted pharmacy claims to health care benefit programs for the dispensing of controlled
substances that were not supported by legitimate medical need.
8.

It was further part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant obtained the

controlled substances in order to re-sell them for a profit.

The Charge
9.

On or about the 3rd day of November, 2014, in the District of Maryland, the

defendant,
WALTER MOFFETT,
10.

for the purpose of executing and attempting to execute the above described scheme

and artifice to defraud a health care benefit program as defined in Title 18, United States Code,
Section 24(b), to wit Medicaid, in connection with the payment for health care benefits, items, and
services, did knowingly and willfully submit and cause to be submitted by Rite Aid Pharmacy, 711
Washington Avenue, Suite 26, Chestertown, Maryland, a fraudulent claim for dispensing 112
tablets of Oxycodone 30 mg, a controlled substance, knowing said claim to be fraudulent, in that
the prescription was not for a legitimate medical need.
18 U.S.C. 1347
18 U.S.C. 2

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FORFEITURE
1.

The allegations contained in Counts 1-3 of this Indictment are hereby realleged

and incorporated by reference for the purpose of alleging forfeitures pursuant to Title 21, United
States Code, Section 853, Title 18 United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), and Title 28 United
States Code, Section 2461(c).
2.

Pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853, upon conviction of an

offense in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841 or 846, the defendants,
DONALD RUSSELL,
BRUCE KEVIN LEWIS,
DANIELLE SILBERSTEIN,
PETER SNYDER,
ROBERT LONG,
JAMIE DAVIS,
RONALD TENNYSON,
TERRELL DOWNING,
JOHN FIELDS,
RONALD RUST,
RONALD KANS,
WALTER MOFFETT, and
MELISSA CATLETT,
shall forfeit to the United States of America any property constituting, or derived from, any
proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of such offense and any property used, or
intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, the
offense and all interest and proceeds traceable thereto, including, but not limited to, a sum of
money in the amount of at least $1,200,000.1
3.

Upon conviction of a violation of 18 U.S.C. 1347, as alleged in Counts 2 and 3

of this Indictment, the defendants,

1
This figure is calculated using the street value of the oxycodone pills that would have been distributed by the
pill mill clinics during one month of operation. Four hundred total patients in a month, each receiving at least 100
oxycodone 30 mg pills, would total 40,000 pills in one month. A street value of $30 per pill would be the equivalent
of $1,200,000.

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DONALD RUSSELL,
JONATHAN FIELDS, and
WALTER MOFFETT,
shall forfeit to the United States of America, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section
982(a)(7), any property, real or personal, that constitutes or is derived, directly or indirectly,
from gross proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense(s).

SUBSTITUTE ASSETS
3.

If any of the property subject to forfeiture, as a result of any act or omission of the

defendant:
a.

cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

b.

has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;

c.

has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;

d.

has been substantially diminished in value; or

e.

has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided

without difficulty,

the United States of America shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to 21
U.S.C. 853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(b)(1) and Title 28,
United States Code, Section 2461(c), including but not limited to the following:
a.

All right, title and interest in the following assets, accounts and holdings:

i.
the 2007 Cadillac Escalade bearing Maryland registration number
62177CF, and vehicle identification number ("YIN") 1GYFK66817R350337;
ii.
the 2011 Ford F-150 bearing Maryland registration number 8BR1537 and
YIN 1FTFW1EF3BFA34770;
iii.
the 2012 Kia bearing Maryland registration number 2AZ1678 and VIN
5XXGM4A75CG015747;
iv.
the 2014 Cadillac Escalade bearing Maryland registration number
6BH9575 and VIN 1GY54CEF1ER203679;
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v.
the 2013 Dodge Charger bearing Virginia registration number WPH5874
and VIN 2C3CDYBT3DH680702;
vi.
the 2007 Nissan bearing Virginia registration number WPN9909 and VIN
1N4AL21E17N422248;
vii.
the 2014 Kia SUV bearing Maryland registration number 7BE0007 and
VIN 5XYKWDA78EG455299;
viii. the 2012 Hyundai bearing Maryland registration number 6AL3783 and
VIN 5NPEB4AC8CH359782;
ix.
Account Number 4304271341 at TD Bank in the name A-Plus Pain
Center;
x.
Account Number 4304272711 at TD Bank in the name Donald Russell;
and
xi.
Account Number 4290745278 at TD Bank in the name PG Wellness
Center, LLC.
18 U.S.C. 982(a)
21 U.S.C. 853(a)
28 U.S.C. 2461(c)
Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.2(a)

United States Attorney

A TRUE BILL:

Date: 6.

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