Doctor Sentenced To 16 Years For Distributing Drugs
BOISE, Idaho - Dr. Rafael Beier, 63, of Kingston, Idaho, was sentenced on November 30, 2017, to 192 months in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for unlawfully distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone. Senior U.S.District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Beier to pay a $63,000 fine and to forfeit proceeds of $732,800.
In May 2016, a north Idaho jury found Beier guilty of conspiring to distribute oxycodone and hydrocodone and 61 separate counts of distributing a controlled substance. It is unlawful for a doctor to distribute controlled substances outside the usual course of their professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.
Evidence at trial showed that between 2012 and May 2014, Beier sold prescriptions for highly addictive drugs like oxycodone, Adderall and hydrocodone in exchange for cash at locations such as bars, parking lots, stores, as well as his office. The jury heard evidence that Beier created false medical charts to explain the illegal drug sales.
The jury also saw the prescriptions written by Beier, a video of Beier discussing his drug sales with a witness, and an audio recording of a person working with law enforcement buying a prescription from Beier in a bathroom stall. Witnesses included co-conspirators who sold pills for Beier, non-patients whose names were used on prescriptions and a number of people who bought prescriptions from Beier. Several witnesses testified about the substantial negative effect that opioid addiction had on their lives.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Lodge stated, "Dr. Beier let greed, sexual satisfaction and the power of a prescription pad cloud his judgment.”
The case was investigated by Drug Enforcement (DEA), Federal Bureau of (FBI), and North Idaho Violent Crimes Task (NIVCTF).
