Las Cruces doctor indicted on charges of illegally prescribing pain meds resulting in patients’ deaths

April 17--ALBUQUERQUE -- A former Las Cruces doctor was arrested Thursday by FBI and DEA agents following a 111-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury earlier in the day alleging unlawfully dispensing prescription drugs resulting in the deaths of two patients, and health care fraud. He could face a sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Pawan Kumar Jain, 61, has been charged with 61 counts of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and 50 counts of health care fraud.

Jain, who had been a licensed physician with a neurology subspecialty, operated a pain management clinic in Las Cruces until his medical license was suspended in June 2012 and subsequently revoked in December 2012 by the New Mexico Medical Board.

Each of the 61 dispensing charges alleges he unlawfully dispensed prescription painkillers, primarily oxycodone and methadone, to patients outside the usual course of medical practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.

Counts 1 and 2 allege that Jain's unlawful dispensing of prescription painkillers and fraudulent conduct resulted in the death of a patient. According to the indictment, Jain dispensed 540 tablets (40 mg) of oxycodone and 405 tablets (10 mg) of methadone to the patient between April 22 and Sept. 29, 2009.

Counts 3 and 4 allege that Jain's unlawful dispensing of oxycodone and fraudulent conduct resulted in the death of a second patient.

The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of the 61 dispensing charges is 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Because the criminal conduct charge allegedly resulted in the deaths of two patients, Jain could be subject to enhanced sentencing on the first four counts.

The statutory penalty for a conviction on each of counts 1 and 3, which allege the unlawful dispensing of a controlled substance resulting in death, is a mandatory minimum 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. The statutory penalty for a conviction on each of counts 2 and 4, which allege health care fraud resulting in death, is life imprisonment.

"The diversion and abuse of prescription opioids, such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, threatens the health and safety of our communities and remains a serious concern for law enforcement," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Arabit in a prepared statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office. "It is particularly concerning when a doctor, who is entrusted with the care and well-being of his patients, contributes to this problem by prescribing addictive pain killers in an unprofessional manner absent a legitimate medical purpose.

"By engaging in this illegal and irresponsible behavior, a medical practitioner violates the trust of those he has a duty to serve, and, most sadly, his actions can result in their death," Arabit said.

The 50 health care fraud charges allege Jain engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid by submitting claims for payment for prescription medications he dispensed to patients outside the usual course of medical practice and without legitimate medical purpose. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of the health care fraud charges is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"Health care fraud and unlawfully dispensing prescription drugs cost consumers, taxpayers and insurance companies billions of dollars," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee. "Sometimes, as this case alleges, these crimes can even kill."

The state's Prescription Monitoring Program reported in 2012 that Jain had prescribed more than 3 million doses of medication to about 3,800 patients in one year, more than any other doctor in the state.

But some of his patients came to his defense at the time.

"Those injections were life-saving," said Kelly Welch, who was Jain's patient for a couple of years. "He was also able to relieve my migraines with a combination of herbal medication. He's helped a lot of people."

Jain is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

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