Lake Village doctor charged in drug, fraud case
Posted on Saturday, October 18, 2008
Authorities arrested a Lake Village doctor Friday and accused her of fraudulently prescribing narcotics and other drugs to herself and others.
Shirlene Hill was charged with felony controlled-substances fraud and felony conspiracy to introduce controlled substances into the bodies of others, according to documents filed in Chicot County Circuit Court.
Hill, 51, also was charged with misdemeanor practicing without a medical license. Authorities say she and her staff backdated prescriptions to patients two days after her license was suspended Aug. 25.
Reached by telephone Friday, Hill described the charges against her as “totally bogus.”
“It’s all strictly allegations,” she said. “There’s no truth to it. I’m on no controlled substances.”
Hill said she was released from jail Friday on her own recognizance. She didn’t know her next court date.
On Oct. 3, Hill agreed to a settlement with the Arkansas State Medical Board under which she would not practice medicine for a year and would permanently give up her ability to prescribe scheduled medication.
Authorities say Hill or members of her staff fraudulently prescribed narcotics and amphetamines to patients who were then asked to deliver the drugs to other people, including herself, according to a 12-page arrest affidavit filed in Chicot County Circuit Court.
Lt. Jason Akers, supervisor of the 10 th Judicial District Drug Task Force, said authorities searched Hill’s home Friday after the arrest and found controlled substances.
Akers said the scope of the purported conspiracy is still unknown.
“There are multiple investigations that have spiraled off of this that are still ongoing,” Akers said.
Two days after Hill’s license was suspended in August, more than 15 patients were lined up at her Chicot Family Practice medical clinic at 2819 Louis Sessions St. in Lake Village, according to the affidavit.
While Hill was not in the office Aug. 27, Hill had members of her staff give patients drug prescriptions that were backdated to Aug. 25, the day she was suspended, the affidavit said.
Police interviewed Sherry Mitchell, who was at the clinic picking up Xanax and Lorcet prescriptions for her husband. She told authorities it wasn’t the first time she received prescriptions at the clinic without seeing a doctor.
Authorities arrested a staff member, Sally Britt Powell, after they said they found her in a car in the clinic parking lot with narcotics, fraudulent prescription pads and $ 2, 160 in cash.
Powell was arrested in August on two counts of prescription fraud and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
In an interview with authorities, Powell said Hill prescribed her amphetamines and Demerol, drugs that were to be delivered back to Hill for her personal use and distribution.
Powell also told authorities that a prescription for the pain medication Oxycontin was written for someone in her family. She told authorities that she was to deliver those pills to Hill as well.
Another witness, Oshandra Johnson, also told police Hill fraudulently prescribed her medicine that she then delivered to Hill, according to the affidavit.
But Hill said she never prescribed medicine to people and then had them deliver the drugs to her.
“I’ve been practicing medicine for 20 years, and I’ve never done that,” she said. “That is strictly hearsay, hearsay, hearsay.”
She said someone stole prescription pads from her office. She said she’s working with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration to get to the bottom of the situation.
As for the misdemeanor charge of practicing medicine without a license, Hill said she believes she had 48 hours from the Aug. 25 suspension to close down the medical clinic.
She said she agreed to take a year off from practicing medicine, in part, because she has to undergo three surgeries after breaking her back in three places in May.
“I was going to go on medical leave anyway when all of this came to a head,” she said.
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