Doctor with Phenix City practice sentenced in ‘pill mill’ case

A LaGrange, Ga., doctor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for operating a “pill mill” through his Phenix City medical practice and laundering money.

The 120-month sentence for Dr. Robert M. Ritchea, 54, reflects one of the largest ever imposed by a federal judge in Alabama on a doctor for operating a pill mill.

Acting U.S. Attorney A. Clark Morris wrote in a news release that Ritchea ran a family practice in Phenix City where he wrote prescriptions for controlled substances such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone and hydromorphone, “knowing that his patients did not actually need the drugs prescribed.”

Court documents say Ritchea laundered his profits by purchasing hydromorphone and hydrocodone straight from the a drug manufacturer and selling the pills at his medical practice.

At the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, evidence was introduced that showed at least one of Ritchea’s patients died as a result of a methadone overdose just days after receiving a prescription for that drug from the doctor.

The court also heard testimony from former patients who had maintained their addictions to prescription drugs by obtaining monthly prescriptions from Ritchea. The patients testified that they made cash payments to Ritchea of at least $150 each month in exchange for office visits and prescriptions. The patients described the impact the addiction had on their lives and families.

A pharmacist from the Phenix City-Columbus area also described the unusually large prescriptions Ritchea’s patients brought to his pharmacy. A physician who operated an addiction rehabilitation clinic told the court that he had given his patients an ultimatum — they could not remain in his rehabilitation program if they were simultaneously receiving prescription drugs from Ritchea.

When he imposed the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge W. Keith Watkins told Ritchea that his conduct was not far removed from the conduct of a drug dealer operating on a street corner. The judge also stressed the need to deter other doctors from overprescribing prescription drugs.

“The abuse of opiates destroys careers, divides families, severs relationships, and, as we saw in this case, it takes lives,” Morris said. “In exchange for monthly cash payments, Dr. Ritchea poured poison into his community. Society trusted Dr. Ritchea to care for the sick, not make people sick. Dr. Ritchea violated that trust and the harm he caused was immense. I believe the ten-year sentence was certainly justified.”

A “pill mill” is a medical clinic created to dispense controlled substances inappropriately, unlawfully, and for non-medical reasons.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Doctor with Phenix City practice sentenced in ‘pill mill’ case."