Doctor gave ‘unnecessary’ opioids to patients who had sex with him, Ohio officials say
A doctor in Ohio pleaded guilty to multiple counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances to patients for whom the drugs were “medically unnecessary,” according to prosecutors.
Jeffrey Sutton, 65, was a doctor working in Niles, about 60 miles southwest of Cleveland, from 2015 until 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio said in a Tuesday, Jan. 31, news release. During this time, officials said he prescribed “medically unnecessary” opioids and controlled substances to several patients for “extended periods” of time.
Sutton’s attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ Feb. 1 request for comment.
Sutton “escalated opioid dosages to extreme levels” for his patients, officials said. He also prescribed opioid dosages “more than 22 times the level” identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “posing a risk of overdosing,” per the release.
The 65-year-old overprescribed these drugs for long periods of time while ignoring signs of mental illness and prescription drug abuse among patients, according to court documents filed Jan. 9 with the U.S. District Court in the Northern Court of Ohio’s Eastern Division.
He also ignored warnings from “drug management organizations, insurance carriers and state authorities,” prosecutors said in court documents.
He continued prescribing high doses of opioids and controlled substances even as patients requested lower doses, court documents said. His prescriptions supported “ongoing addiction rather than the legitimate treatment of chronic pain,” prosecutors said.
One of Sutton’s patients had “two opioid-related hospitalizations, including for overdose,” yet he continued prescribing the patient “high levels” of opioids, officials said.
Sutton had sexual relationships with three different patients both during and outside of office visits, court documents said. He “directly distributed controlled substances” to these patients “without a valid prescription,” prosecutors said.
Additionally, Sutton also engaged in health care benefit fraud, court documents said. He prescribed “medically unnecessary controlled substances” to patients, required regular office visits and then got reimbursements from health care benefit programs, prosecutors said.
Sutton pleaded guilty to 31 counts of “illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, one count of illegally distributing controlled substances and 20 counts of healthcare fraud, according to the release. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Sutton’s physician’s license is currently active, according to the State Medical Board of Ohio. However, the board issued a hearing notice to Sutton in September 2022 to “determine whether or not to limit, revoke, permanently revoke or suspend” his license due to allegations of “failure to comply” with controlled substance requirements, according to the citation.
Investigators asked anyone who saw or experienced Sutton’s medical practice to contact the Cleveland FBI at 216-583-5353.
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Doctor gave ‘unnecessary’ opioids to patients who had sex with him, Ohio officials say."
