Doctor, wife’s terms upheld for overdoses

WICHITA, Kan. — A federal judge on Thursday upheld the decades-long prison sentences of a Kansas doctor and his wife who were convicted in a moneymaking conspiracy linked to 68 drug overdose deaths.

Dr. Stephen Schneider and his wife, Linda, had asked the judge for compassion as he reassessed their original sentences. Prosecutors said the case wasn’t one that deserved compassion, noting that the couple’s clinic that treated people with chronic pain was linked to dozens of deaths and many other addictions.

U.S. District Judge Monti Belot sided with prosecutors by again sentencing the doctor to 30 years in prison and his wife to 33 years. The same punishment was imposed after the couple was convicted in 2010 of conspiracy to commit health care fraud resulting in deaths, unlawfully prescribing drugs, health care fraud and money laundering.

The judge ordered a new sentencing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that a victim’s drug use must be the actual cause of death, not just a contributing factor.

The doctor and his wife had argued that they helped people with chronic pain at their clinic in Haysville, even as the doctor saw up to 100 patients a day and left pads of pre- signed prescription forms for staff when he was out.

Their lawyers argued during a 2010 trial that they were overwhelmed and listened to drugmakers that pushed potent narcotics. The doctor is now 62, and his wife is 57.

The Schneiders and their family had hoped the judge would lessen their sentences.