Ambler Doc Sentenced For Selling $5 Million In Prescription Meds

AMBLER, PA – A Philadelphia doctor and Ambler native was sentenced to two years in prison for selling more than $5 million in prescription drugs, authorities said.

Alan Summers, 79, operated a medical clinic on South Broad Street in Philadelphia, where he illegally sold prescriptions Suboxone and Klonopin, according to police. Suboxone is a brand name for a drug used to treat opiate addiction and Klonopin is a depressant that is clinically used to treat seizures, panic disorder, and movement disorder.

Summers, along with other doctors whom he employed, did not conduct the medical exams or mental health exams required to legally prescribe the meds, authorities said. Fellow doctors Azad Khan and Keyhosrow Parsia were also charged.

Many of the customers who frequented the "NASAPT" (National Association for Substance Abuse-Prevention & Treatment) clinic were not real patients at all, but rather drug dealers or drug addicts who turned around and resold the meds, according to officials.

"Dr. Alan Summers cared more for his financial gain, than his oath as a doctor," United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen said in announcing the sentence. "His actions helped fuel the opioid epidemic and the illegal distribution of prescription drugs."

Sommers was convicted on charges of distributing controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, health care fraud, money laundering, and related counts. In addition to his prison sentence, he also faces two years supervised release, and must pay both $4.6 million in restitution and a $1,700 special assessment.

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