Local Doctor Sentenced In Pill Mill Conspiracy

BIRMINGHAM, AL — U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor on Tuesday sentenced a Birmingham area doctor to 30 years in prison for his involvement with Care Complete Medical Clinic, and Thursday sentenced two of his co-conspirators.

Dr. Patrick Ifediba, 61, of Shelby County, was convicted in July 2019 on 35 counts involving unlawful drug distribution, health care fraud and money laundering. In addition to Ifediba’s prison sentence, Judge Proctor ordered forfeiture of his interest in real estate and the contents of several annuities and financial accounts, collectively worth approximately $2.5 million.

The Court also entered forfeiture money judgments against Ifediba in the amounts of $2,481,665.73 (representing the proceeds of health care-fraud offenses) and $1,132,817.50 (representing the proceeds of controlled-substances offenses). Forfeiture proceedings concerning the financial-account contents and real estate are ongoing in order to account for the rights of any third-party claimants to the properties forfeited.

Ngozi Justina Ozuligbo, 50, of Trussville, was convicted on twelve counts of health care fraud and money laundering. The jury determined that she had, among other offenses, conspired with Ifediba to both fraudulently bill Medicare and various health-insurance companies for allergy related tests and treatments and launder the proceeds of his unlawful activities.

Ozuligbo was sentenced to 36 months in prison, and ordered to pay $392,845.94 in restitution.

Clement Essien Ebio, 63, of Hoover, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to conspiring with Ifediba and Ozuligbo to commit health care fraud. Ebio was sentenced to 30 months in prison, ordered to pay $392,845.94 in restitution, and a forfeiture money judgment was entered against him in the same amount.

“Physicians who choose to deal drugs while hiding behind their white coats are no different than drug dealers who hide in alleys,” U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said. “The greed of Dr. Ifediba contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis that is plaguing our communities. And to add insult to injury, Dr. Ifediba used our financial system to disguise the proceeds of his crimes and launder them into financial accounts and real property. Each day, more law-enforcement resources are being deployed to address health care fraud. These resources will result in more doctors, nurses, and business people in the health care sector being held accountable for their actions.”

“Ifediba intentionally fueled the local opioid epidemic by over prescribing addictive medications to patients for his own personal gain,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp said. “The message should be clear, any doctor or healthcare professional who prioritizes profit or does harm to their patients under the guise of providing health care will be subject to the full investigative resources of the FBI and our law enforcement partners.”

According to evidence at trial, Ifediba was a doctor of internal medicine who owned and operated Care Complete Medical Clinic. Ifediba and others, including his wife, operated CCMC as a pill mill, and illegally prescribed opioids there, often in combination with other controlled substances to form potent and deadly drug cocktails.

In addition to operating the pill mill, Ifediba, in a conspiracy with Ebio and Ozuligbo, stole millions of dollars from Medicare and private health insurers in connection with an allergy fraud scheme that billed insurers for medically unnecessary allergy tests and allergen immunotherapy.

Ifediba, with assistance from Ozuligbo and others, laundered the money he made from these crimes through over 50 bank accounts and shell corporations to hide the money and to purchase real estate and fund investment accounts that he controlled, according to court records.