Bowie Doctor Sentenced For Prescribing Painkillers Without Medical Cause

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A 68-year-old Bowie doctor has pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid fraud for writing prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances without a legitimate medical purpose.

Vitalis Ohakwe Ojiegbe has received a five-year suspended sentence with three years’ supervised probation. Ojiegbe was ordered to pay $16,035.11 in restitution and also is to be excluded from participating in any federally funded healthcare program, according to the prosecution.

Ojiegbe, a physician specializing in internal medicine, owned and operated Sunrise Medical Clinic, a medical practice located in the 9800 block of Greenbelt Road in Lanham. The investigation began following a referral from the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Controlled Substances Administration. OCSA is the state agency responsible for enforcing the Controlled Dangerous Substances Act.

Starting in January 2013 and continuing through June 2019, Ojiegbe charged his patients, many of whom were Medicaid recipients, $200 a month for monthly medical appointments even though the patients could have seen a Medicaid provider free of charge. In exchange for these cash payments, Ojiegbe prescribed controlled dangerous substances, including oxycodone and alprazolam, without a legitimate medical purpose, court documents disclosed.