Doctor gets probation for illegally providing drugs
NORRISTOWN » A Philadelphia physician who authorities alleged illegally provided various drugs to a woman during encounters at an Upper Merion motel after meeting her on a “sugar daddy” website will be under court supervision for several years.
Sean Graham Fogler, 49, of the 1900 block of Hamilton Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to five years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of acquisition of controlled substances by fraud in connection with seven incidents that occurred between February 2014 and June 2015. The drugs Fogler delivered included oxycodone, suboxone, alprazolam and clonazepam, according to court documents.
The sentence was imposed by Common Pleas Court Judge William R. Carpenter who determined a jail term was not warranted given that Fogler accepted responsibility for his conduct and was making “great efforts to dig out of a hole,” including seeking treatment for his addiction and counseling others who are in the throes of addiction.
But the judge warned that if Fogler, who was an anesthesiologist, violates the sentence he will send Fogler to prison.
“I’ll be waiting for you and you’ll go to jail. Do you understand?” Carpenter addressed Fogler.
“Yes, your honor,” Fogler responded.
The judge ordered Fogler to send him a letter every August to let him know the steps he’s taken to remain sober and to help others suffering from addictions.
Testimony revealed Fogler entered and successfully completed two inpatient drug treatment programs before he was arrested for his crimes. Fogler testified he is collaborating on a book about the opioid epidemic, is involved with counseling groups for doctors battling addictions and said he wants “to be a positive face for change.”
Defense lawyer Brian McMonagle, arguing for leniency on behalf of Fogler, asked the judge to examine the strides Fogler has taken to embrace his recovery and to help others.
“Judge them not by whether they fall down but whether they get up. Boy, did he get back up. This is a man who fell pretty far and got back up,” McMonagle argued. “He’s rebuilding his life and helping others to rebuild theirs.”
Assistant District Attorney Richard Bradbury Jr. alleged Fogler used his authority as a physician to write prescriptions for someone who was not actually receiving medical care.
“This is not simply a lapse in judgment,” Bradbury argued to the judge, adding a doctor’s oath is to “do no harm.” “This defendant used the power and authority he had to do harm. Other doctors are conceivably in the same position and they need to make better choices. I hope this serves in some way as a cautionary tale to people in a similar situation.”
The investigation began in November 2014, when Upper Merion police received information that Fogler was illegally distributing narcotics in the King of Prussia area. Fogler implanted ports into the extremities of his primary customer, a female he met in an online relationship site described as a “sugar daddy website,” so that she could administer drugs more easily when Fogler was unavailable to assist her, according to the criminal complaint filed by Upper Merion Detective Blaine Leis.
The woman told detectives that the first time they met it was at a residence in Lower Providence and Fogler asked her if she used illegal drugs, and she told him she used Percocet pills, according to the arrest affidavit. At their next meeting, he brought her Percocet, detectives alleged.
Fogler learned about the woman’s addiction to heroin and the woman told detectives Fogler began to provide her with cash to pay for her habit on a regular basis for the 18 months that they maintained a relationship, according to the criminal complaint.
The woman told detectives she and Fogler met several times at the Motel 6 in King of Prussia between October 2014 and January 2015. During that time, Fogler delivered prescription drugs to the woman, some in liquid form, according to the arrest affidavit.
The woman also told detectives that on several occasions she overdosed on narcotics and Fogler would administer Narcan, an opiate overdose reversal drug, according to the arrest affidavit.