DETROIT – Four Michigan doctors who were accused of being involved in a Warren prescription drug scheme have been acquitted of all charges after a six-week trial, according to the Macomb Daily.
Dr. Rajendra Bothra, Dr. Ganiu Edu, Dr. David Lewis, and Dr. Christopher Russo were acquitted Wednesday (June 29) in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
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The doctors were originally charged with health care fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Attorneys accused the doctors of illegally prescribing more than 13 million pills and making false claims to collect millions of dollars from Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. But Bothra’s attorney told the Macomb Daily that the four doctors were providing medicine appropriately to patients with back pain.
Two other doctors linked to this case took plea deals and testified at the trial. Dr. Eric Bakos pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and Dr. Ronald Kufner pleaded guilty in October to health care fraud.
More about the doctors
Bothra is a licensed physician who controlled, owned, and operated the Pain Center and the Interventional Pain Center, according to court records. Edu, Lewis, and Russo are licensed physicians.
The Pain Center is a professional limited liability company with offices at 27423 Van Dyke Avenue in Warren and 22480 Kelly Road in Eastpointe.
The Interventional Pain Center is also in the Van Dyke Avenue building in Warren.
All six doctors were licensed by the Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe controlled substances and issued prescriptions to patients at the Pain Center, according to officials.