Naples Doctor Who Operated a Pill Mill Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison
Ordered to Forfeit More Than $400,000 and Nine Luxury Vehicles
FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, of Naples, Florida. to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. The court also ordered Abraham to forfeit the following items to the United States, which were proceeds of his illegal activities: a 2020 Acura NSX, a 2020 Porsche GT4, a 2021 Toyota Supra, a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2020 Aston Martin, a 2020 Nissan 370Z, a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro, two 2020 Ford Mustangs, $190,496.56 paid towards a 2021 Aston Martin, and $249,598.52 in cash.
According to court documents, Abraham was a licensed psychiatrist who practiced in Naples, Fla. His clinic operated on a cash only basis, with patients paying $400 per visit.
In October 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began an investigation after receiving a tip that Abraham was illegally prescribing strong opioids to patients who had no need for the medication. Over the course of the next year, DEA conducted 18 undercover patient visits to Abraham’s office, each time receiving prescriptions for oxycodone. Abraham ignored signs of drug abuse the undercover patients pretended to have and prescribed them oxycodone without ever examining them. Additionally, Abraham repeatedly increased the strength of the prescriptions simply because the patient asked him for more. In one instance, he prescribed an undercover patient oxycodone after telling him the medical paperwork “shows you are completely normal.”
The investigation also revealed that Abraham frequently prescribed Adderall to patients for no legitimate reason. Adderall is the brand name of a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and contains amphetamine, a frequently abused controlled substance. On multiple occasions, law enforcement observed Abraham prescribe Adderall simply upon a patient’s request, without asking any questions or engaging in any examination justifying the prescription.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division and the United States Secret Service, with assistance from the Naples Police Department and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Prosecution and forfeiture were handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
More information about this case can be found at https://www.flmd.uscourts.gov or https://ecf.flmd.uscourts.gov.