Oklahoma City Doctor Pays $325,000 to Settle Civil Penalty Claims
OKLAHOMA CITY - Albert T. Nguyen, M.D., of Oklahoma City, paid $325,000 to settle civil penalty claims stemming from allegations that he violated the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and its regulations. The settlement was announced by Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Field Division.
Dr. Nguyen is the owner and sole physician at the Budget Medical Clinic in Oklahoma City. The United States alleges that from approximately November 2016 to May 2017, Dr. Nguyen operated two clinic locations in Oklahoma City. When Dr. Nguyen was seeing patients at one location, he routinely left pre-signed, blank prescriptions at the other location, which non-physician practitioners used to issue prescriptions to patients for controlled substances that they did not have the authority to prescribe. The United States further alleges that the prescriptions were not issued in the usual course of professional practice. The United States also alleges that Dr. Nguyen’s conduct violated the requirements contained in the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and its regulations.
Dr. Nguyen agreed to pay $325,000 to the United States to resolve these allegations.
In reaching this settlement, Dr. Nguyen did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case.
This case was investigated by the DEA Office of Diversion Control in Oklahoma City, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda R. Johnson and Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case.
