Tulsa doctor sentenced in opioid conspiracy case
TULSA, OK -- A Tulsa doctor was sentenced last week for conspiring with others to unlawfully issue prescriptions for controlled substances, as well as maintaining a drug involved premises at his medical clinic, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
Christopher V. Moses, 67, of Tulsa, has been sentenced to one year of home confinement and five total years of probation. Moses will forfeit his medical license and not seek reinstatement while serving his sentence. U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell further ordered Moses to pay $28,581 in restitution to two victims, a $200,000 fine, and a forfeiture amount of $1.8 million representing the proceeds he obtained as a result of his crime. Moses will also forfeit his 2011 Mercedes-benz.
“We must work free of the deadly grip that illicit opioids have on our nation. Doctors like Christopher Moses who operate “pill mills” should be ashamed of themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “It’s only right that Mr. Moses is now a convicted felon and has been stripped of his medical title. He is no different than any other drug dealer on the street spreading addiction for profit.”
This sentence comes as a result of his role in leading a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances without a legitimate medial purpose and outside the scope of professional practice, and for maintaining a drug involved premises. As a part of this conspiracy, Moses and his co-conspirators unlawfully issued prescriptions for controlled substances, many of which included deadly opioid prescription drugs such as Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, and Fentanyl. One repercussion of their unlawful distribution of such drugs, is the death of two individuals, one from acute fentanyl toxicity and the other from acute morphine and oxycodone toxicity.
The US Attorney’s office said that Moses and those working with him committed such acts with the goal of generating large profits from the prescriptions and taking those proceeds for their own personal use and benefit.