SEATTLE, WA – A once-respected medical doctor is trading a stethoscope for prison stripes. HIEU TU LE, 40, of Snohomish, Washington, was sentenced today to five years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for illegally distributing oxycodone, a highly addictive opioid. The sentence was handed down in U.S. District Court in Seattle by Judge Thomas S. Zilly, who cited the “potential public danger of the conduct.”
Le, a licensed physician in Washington State since 2004, operated medical clinics in Seattle and Everett. But instead of healing patients, prosecutors revealed he was peddling painkillers for profit. According to court documents, between March 2012 and July 2013, Le wrote prescriptions for oxycodone in exchange for cash, with no legitimate medical need. He didn’t stop there. Le also personally obtained the pills and resold them for cash, fueling addiction in the community.
“This defendant essentially operated an open-air drug market out of the parking lot of his medical clinic,” declared U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “As a medical doctor he knew the damage of addiction but sold drugs to feed his greed.” Le’s descent began after leaving his position as an anesthesiologist at Valley General Hospital in Monroe, Washington in March 2012. He briefly ran a medical marijuana authorization clinic before opening Northwest Green Medical in Everett.
The scheme wasn’t subtle. Le would deliver prescriptions directly to an Everett pharmacy, pick up the oxycodone, and then sell the pills to individuals he knew lacked a legitimate medical need. Prosecutors highlighted the devastating impact of prescription opioid abuse in their sentencing memo, noting that in 2010, overdose deaths involving these drugs outnumbered deaths from all other illicit substances combined. They argued Le, as a doctor, should have known better.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2010 there were 16,651 overdose deaths involving prescription opioids, a tally which outnumbered overdose deaths from all other illicit drugs (including heroin and cocaine) combined,” the memo stated. “In 2009, for the first year ever, opioid deaths surpassed motor vehicle crashes as a cause of death in the United States…. As a medical doctor, the defendant ignored the harsh realities of addictive painkillers, suggesting that he lost whatever moral compass he may have had.”
The bust came in July 2013 with a federal search warrant served at Le’s Everett clinic. He voluntarily surrendered his DEA registration, effectively ending his ability to legally prescribe controlled substances. As part of a plea agreement, Le is now forfeiting various bank and brokerage accounts, along with a 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid – all purchased with the proceeds of his illegal drug operation. The case was a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Mike Lang and Matthew Diggs.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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