COLUMBIA, N.H. — A New Hampshire doctor has pleaded guilty to illegally prescribing opioids in the state’s first conviction of a doctor in such a case, the U.S. Attorney said.
Dr. Robert G. Soucy Jr., 72, of Columbia, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to unlawfully distributing a controlled substance, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack said in a statement.
Soucy faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He surrendered his DEA registration and is no longer authorized to prescribe controlled substances.
According to court documents, Soucy illegally prescribed opioids from his home in Columbia, New Hampshire.
Prosecutors said Soucy knew that pharmacies in and around Colebrook, New Hampshire, would not fill his prescriptions for several of his patients.
To have the unlawful prescriptions filled, Soucy specifically instructed a patient to bring his prescriptions to a pharmacy in another location, prosecutors said.
Soucy “also continued to prescribe opioids to the patient, who the defendant knew had a substance-abuse disorder, without conducting any medical evaluation or testing and after the patient had moved out of New England,” prosecutors said.
His conviction is the first conviction of a doctor in the District of New Hampshire from a joint investigation by the New England Strike Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, officials said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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