Indian-American doctor faces 4 years in prison after pleading guilty to forging prescriptions

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An Indian-American doctor in Shreveport, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Sept. 5, to forging prescriptions, a crime that could send him to prison for a maximum of four years in prison.

United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana David C. Joseph announced that Kevin Patel, 32, a former resident physician at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport (LSUHSC) pleaded guilty to forging prescriptions for a controlled substance and then using false identification to fill those prescriptions.

Patel, who is originally of Naperville, Illinois, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. to one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, a press release from the U.S. Attorney said.

According to the guilty plea, Patel was a resident physician at LSUHSC in Shreveport from 2014 to 2017.  In May and June of 2017, Patel issued five forged prescriptions for controlled substances in his roommate’s name.  Four were issued using the prescription pads of other physicians, without their knowledge or authorization.

Patel then used his roommate’s identification at local pharmacies, without the roommate’s knowledge or approval, to successfully fill four of the forged prescriptions.  Through this and other means, from April 2017 to June 2017, Patel fraudulently obtained approximately 150 tablets of Adderall and approximately 150 tablets of Vyvanse, both Schedule II controlled substances.

Apart for a maximum four years in prison, Patel also could be sentenced to one year of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The court set sentencing for January 3, next year.