DEL RIO – A Carrizo Springs doctor pleaded guilty today to running a “pill mill” by providing patients with illegal prescriptions.
According to court documents, Dr Alfonso Luevano, 52, admitted that he made appointments with patients who did not meet accepted standards of care and that he prescribed them controlled substances, including l hydrocodone, alprazolam and tramadol. Undercover officers made several audio / video visits with the doctor in which he prescribed controlled substances with almost no medical evaluation. The defendant also admitted that he pre-signed prescription pads and allowed his staff and employees to use them to create prescriptions for controlled substances without seeing the patient at all.
Luevano has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He is due to be sentenced on July 27, 2022. A Federal District Court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account US sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Co-accused Ofelia Martinez, 53, also from Carrizo Springs, had previously pleaded guilty on November 22, 2021 to conspiring to commit healthcare fraud. Luevano’s office manager and practice biller Martinez admitted to overcharging Texas Medicaid by listing Luevano as a provider practitioner during office visits when he had not seen the patient. Instead, the patients were seen by mid-level practitioners who were ordered to leave the medical record open. The case was then subsequently closed using Dr Luevano’s account, resulting in a fraudulent medical record that listed Dr Luevano as a supplier. Martinez faces up to 10 years in prison and his sentence is currently set for May 25, 2022.
US attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and Special Agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Daniel Comeaux made the announcement.
The DEA Prescription Drug Diversion Task Force, DEA Del Rio, and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating the case.
Deputy U.S. prosecutors Justin Chung and Joshua Banister are continuing the case.
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