Delco Doc Admits To Illegally Prescribing Opioids

GARNET VALLEY, PA — A Delaware County doctor admitted in federal court to illegally giving out opioids, which led to one patient's death, according to authorities.

First Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams and Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said Timothy Shawl, M.D., 60, of Garnet Valley, pleaded guilty to five counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

Shawl was charged by Indictment in September 2019 as part of a coordinated healthcare fraud enforcement action across seven federal districts, involving more than $800 million in loss and more than 3.25 million opioid pills distributed in "pill mill" clinics.

Shawl prescribed hundreds of oxycodone prescriptions to about 16 patients, amounting to more than 29,000 oxycodone tablets.

During his guilty plea, Shawl admitted that he wrote oxycodone prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose, and which were in fact issued without Shawl treating, examining, or even seeing the patients who received the prescriptions.

Shawl said regarding one patient in particular that he did not do a physical examination on the patient for at least five years, despite regularly prescribing controlled substances to the patient.

Said patient died on Jan. 7, 2019, three days after Shawl last prescribed oxycodone for her, and the cause of death was drug intoxication.

"Today’s guilty plea from Dr. Shawl is the tangible result of the Healthcare Fraud Strike Force delivering on its mission to stop fraud, waste, and abuse within our federal health care programs and to stem the tide of illegal opioid distribution," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Williams. "Our Strike Force acts as a force multiplier, bringing together health care fraud prosecutors, civil enforcement attorneys, data analysts, and law enforcement agencies to do this important work. Today’s guilty plea should serve as a warning to any medical professional engaged in this type of illegal behavior."