Montco Doctor Admits To Selling $5 Million Of Commonly Abused Pills: U.S. Attorney

A Montgomery County doctor has admitted to selling commonly abused prescription drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Alan Summers, 78, of Ambler, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, health care fraud, and money laundering, authorities said.

Summers ran a medical clinic on south Broad Street in Philadelphia called NASAPT, which stands for National Association for Substance Abuse-Prevention & Treatment.

“We have a public health crisis in this county involving prescription drug abuse that is exacerbated by doctors like Alan Summers,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen. “Every doctor who abandons his or her ethics to engage in the prescription-for-pay culture is breaking the law. They need to ask themselves whether it is worth the money to put people in danger, to risk the loss of their medical licenses, and to lose their freedom. Our office will continue to investigate and prosecute those individuals whose unscrupulous and illegal conduct contributes to this deadly epidemic.”

Summers, along with two other doctors, Keyhosrow Parsia and Azad Khan, sold prescriptions for suboxone and klonopin for money, according to the U.S. Attorney.

The doctors did not follow basic legally mandated procedures before selling these drugs, including medical and mental health exams, authorities said.

Many of the "patients" at the clinic turned out to be drug addicts and dealers who in turn sold the medications on the street.

In total, Summers alone sold more than $5 million in controlled substances.

Sentencing has been set for May 22.

Patch file photo