Former Amherst Pediatrician Pleads Guilty To Making False Statements To DEA
CONCORD, NH. - James A. Canfield, who formerly practiced medicine as a pediatrician in Amherst, New Hampshire, pled guilty in United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to making materially false statements to the Drug Enforcement (DEA), announced Steven W. Derr, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney John P. Kacavas.
The DEA conducted an investigation of Canfield’s purchase of more than 6,000 (20) milligram tablets of Methylphenidate, a schedule II controlled substance used to treat attention deficit disorder, between November 2006, and February 2009. Canfield told DEA agents that he purchased approximately 400 Methylphenidate tablets every 2 months to provide to a charity that sent the tablets to an orphanage in Romania for children with attention deficit disorders. He also supplied the DEA with prescription labels that he said had been pre-printed for use with the drugs to be shipped to Romania. The DEA investigation concluded that Canfield had not sent any Methylphenidate to the charity in question.
Canfield admitted that he had lied to the DEA and that he had not sent any drugs to the charity. He is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine and is scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2011.
In addition to his guilty plea, Canfield also has agreed to pay $18,000.00 to resolve allegations that he violated the DEA’s recordkeeping regulations. Canfield entered into a civil settlement to resolve allegations that he obtained quantities of Methylphenidate on approximately 17 different occasions between November 2006 and February 2009 without properly documenting the receipt of the drugs, maintaining an inventory of the drugs, maintaining records regarding the dispensing or other disposition of the drugs, and without admitting any liability. Federal regulations require individuals who are registered with the DEA to maintain accurate records of controlled substances that they receive or dispense. Canfield has voluntarily surrendered his license to practice medicine and his DEA Certificate of Registration.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
