Manager of Pain Clinic, Her Boyfriend, and Customers Facing Federal Charges for a Drug Distribution Conspiracy
Baltimore, MD – A criminal complaint has been filed charging the manager of a pain clinic, her boyfriend, and several customers with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone and oxymorphone. The defendants charged in the criminal complaint are:
Monica Raynette Clark age 31, of Waldorf, Maryland;
Michael Tyrone Scott III age 28, of Waldorf, Maryland;
Larry Nathaniel Waller age 48, of Williamson, West Virginia;
Mildred Taylor age 67, of Stephenson, West Virginia;
Jason James Johnson age 41, of Kermit, West Virginia; and
Lisa Ann Lewis age 41, of Smithsburg, Maryland.
The complaint was filed on May 17, 2021 and unsealed today upon the arrest of five defendants. The sixth defendant, Larry Nathanial Waller, is in West Virginia state custody on pending charges.
The criminal complaint was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division; Jonathan Lenzner, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Maureen Dixon, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, law enforcement obtained evidence that drug trafficking was occurring at two pain clinics—Memorial Care Center, located in Woodbridge, Virginia (“Memorial Care”) and Washington DC Spine Center (“WDC Spine”), which closed in August 2019. Clark was employed as the office manager of Memorial Care and was previously the office manager of WDC Spine. Clark was not a physician and did not have a Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) registration number. The criminal complaint alleges that, since Clark was not authorized to prescribe controlled substances, she forged prescriptions for opioids using prescription pads from the clinics’ doctors, then illegally sold the forged opioid prescriptions to opioid users and diverters, including customers who live in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, such as Waller, Taylor, Johnson, and Lewis. Clark is allegedly in a romantic relationship with Scott, who assists Clark in selling the forged prescriptions.
As detailed in the criminal complaint affidavit, the investigation revealed that Waller, Johnson, Taylor, and Lewis are customers of Clark who purchase opioid prescriptions for themselves and for others. Law enforcement allegedly discovered text messages between Clark and Waller, Johnson, Taylor, and Lewis arranging for the purchase of forged opioid prescriptions. For example, the complaint alleges that from July 2019 to April 2021, more than 40 prescriptions were filled in Johnson’s name and purportedly signed under the name of a Memorial Care and/or WDC Spine doctor.
The affidavit alleges that in an effort to evade scrutiny by law enforcement, Clark used several different phones to sell prescriptions and instructed customers to use specific pharmacies to fill prescriptions. For example, Clark allegedly advised Taylor to fill prescriptions at a pharmacy “in Woodbridge… as long as everybody has a West Virginia ID or Virginia ID” as Clark was purportedly aware that pharmacies had begun to refuse opioid prescriptions from Memorial Care. The criminal complaint further alleges this was in relation to an order of prescriptions for more than 20 individuals.
The criminal complaint further alleges that Clark instructed an undercover agent to claim a fictitious work injury in order to receive a professional recommendation for opioid use. For example, Clark allegedly stated “When you get a free second, go to the emergency room. Tell them you had an accident at work… tell them you are having numbness and tingling in your leg and your foot. That warrants.” Further, the complaint alleges that Clark later arranged to sell forged prescriptions to the undercover agent. Clark and the undercover agent exchanged conversations in which Clark details meeting dates and times, the price for forged prescriptions, and deviance in sales methodology as clients began to be compromised by police.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A criminal complaint is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by criminal complaint is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
The overdose crisis continues to devastate our states and local communities. If you believe you may need substance use disorder treatment or recovery services, please call 1800-662-HELP (4357).
SAC Jarod Forget commended the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the US Attorney's Office of Maryland for their work in the investigation and thanked the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Office of Personnel Management-Office of Inspector General, the Prince William County Police Department, the Fairfax County Police Department, the Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia State Police for their assistance.
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