"Pill Mill" Doctor Pleads Guilty To Drug Distribution And Money Laundering Charges
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Drug Enforcement (DEA) Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay Morris and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck, Jr. announced today Dr. Francisco Huidor-Figureoa, 48, a physician currently residing in Montgomery, Alabama, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, December 29, 2015 in federal court to one count of conspiring to distribute oxycodone and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.
During the plea hearing, Dr. Huidor-Figureoa admitted that he worked as a doctor at a “pill mill.” A “pill mill” is a medical clinic created to sell pills unlawfully, illegally, and for no medical reason. Dr. Huidor-Figureoa was the sole physician employed by the EMED Medical Management Corporation, which operated a “pill mill” in Opelika, Alabama between 2012 and 2013.
While working at the “pill mill,” Dr. Huidor-Figureoa sold oxycodone to pill dealers, based on a fraudulent prescription for which there was no medical purpose. Dr. Hudior-Figureoa knew that the recipients of these illegal pills did not need the medicine and that the recipients intended to either abuse the pills or sell the pills to others who would abuse them.
Dr. Huidor-Figureoa also assisted the “pill mill’s” two owners, Erik Torres and Marc Adam, both of southern Florida, in laundering the money generated from the unlawful prescribing of controlled substances.
At some date within the upcoming months, a United States District Judge will sentence Dr. Huidor-Figueroa. Dr. Huidor-Figueroa faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each count. Additionally, on the drug distribution conspiracy count, Dr. Huidor-Figueroa faces a maximum fine of $1,000,000. On the money laundering conspiracy count, the maximum fine Dr. Huidor-Figueroa could be made to pay is $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater.
The DEA and Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Division investigated the case, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Opelika Police Department, Auburn Police Department and the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners.
Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.
