Doctor sentenced in fraudulent opioid prescription scheme

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – An Oklahoma doctor accused of writing fake opioid prescriptions so his patients could return the pills for his personal use has been sentenced to five months in federal prison.

Court records indicate Dr. Jeremy David Thomas of Owasso was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in November to multiple conspiracies to write fraudulent prescriptions for hydrocodone.

Prosecutors say the 43-year-old orthopedic surgeon who practiced in Claremore wrote fraudulent hydrocodone prescriptions for his patients, who delivered some or all of the tablets to him. Authorities say the scheme diverted more than 13,740 doses of the drug between 2015 and 2017, mainly for Thomas’ use, including during surgeries.

Thomas’ attorney, Robert Lee Wyatt IV, called the case “a very sad set of circumstances.”

Oklahoma’s Osteopathic Board of Examiners suspended Thomas in January 2018.