Orange Physician Sentenced In Illegal Oxycodone Case: Feds

ORANGE, CT — A 57-year-old Orange physician, who pleaded guilty last year in connection with an illegal oxycodone prescription case, was sentenced by a federal judge Tuesday to six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, announced United States Attorney John Durham.

Dr. Sheikh Ahmed, a pediatrician, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport. Ahmed not only had been accused of illegally prescribing oxycodone, he also was accused of failing to pay employee withholding taxes to the IRS.

Ahmed's medical practice, East Hartford Medical Center, was on Burnside Avenue in East Hartford. According to court documents and statements, despite being a pediatrician, his practice did not only focus on children.

Between December 2017 and May 2018, Ahmed "prescribed controlled substances, including Oxycodone, to two individuals outside the scope of professional medical practice." Those people paid Ahmed $500 to issue prescriptions for 30-day supplies of Oxycodone, and he agreed to increase the patients’ dosage in the future, without discussion as to the medical justification for the increase, according to prosecutors.

Ahmed also counseled the patients about the need to increase dosages of the medications gradually to avoid scrutiny from pharmacies. Additionally, he had the patients bypass normal financial intake procedures and took cash payments directly from the patients. Prosecutors said Ahmed failed to perform sufficient examinations to assess the patients’ pain levels prior to issuing the prescriptions.

The investigation also revealed that Ahmed "failed to pay over to the Internal Revenue Service $117,893 in employee withholding taxes from five of his businesses, including East Hartford Medical Center, between 2013 and 2016."

He was arrested in November 2018, and a year later he pleaded guilty to one count of prescribing outside the scope of medical practice, and one count of willful failure to pay withholding taxes.
Ahmed has made full restitution to the IRS.

Ahmed, who is free on a $200,000 bond, is required to report to prison in November.

This investigation was conducted by the DEA’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Chief State’s Attorney. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony E. Kaplan and Christopher W. Schmeisser.