Main Line Doctor Admits To Running Pill Mill, Feds Say

MAIN LINE, PA — A Main Line doctor admitted to running an oxycodone "pill mill" from his pain management facility, federal authorities said.

Yutong Zhang, 63, of Berwyn, a physician, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his operation of what was, in essence, a "pill mill" rather than a medical practice focused on pain management in St Davids.

Zhang pleaded guilty to an information charging four counts of distributing oxycodone-containing medications outside the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose, authorities said.

From about 2016 through 2020, Zhang sold medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances to about 120 purported patients, who were actually cash-paying customers.

Zhang provided the prescriptions frequently after conducting a cursory physical examination or without any examination at all, and did not take steps, such as ordering diagnostic testing, designed to discern the root cause of the pain reportedly suffered by patients.

"The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to stopping drug-dealing doctors like Zhang," United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said. "As a physician, he was well aware of the inherently dangerous nature of the drugs he was selling. But because of his greed, he took advantage of vulnerable people struggling with addiction, piling on to the enormous opioid epidemic ravaging the communities in our District."

"Dr. Zhang abused his position of trust and authority to run a pill mill and illegally prescribe the medications that are fueling the opioid crisis here in Pennsylvania," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "We are grateful for our partners in this case, and we will continue to work together to stop the flow of illegal drugs into our communities which take the lives of 14 Pennsylvanians every day."

The case was investigated by the Radnor Police Department, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Abrams.