Doctor Impersonation Scheme Lands Maryland Man in Federal Lockup

LOS ANGELES – A brazen scheme to steal the identities of dozens of doctors and use them to flood the streets with illegally prescribed narcotics has landed a Maryland man in federal custody. Benjamin Jamal Washington, 25, of Hyattsville, Maryland, admitted guilt today to a trio of federal charges stemming from the elaborate fraud, which spanned nearly three years.

According to court documents, Washington and his co-conspirators systematically harvested personal identifying information (PII) from medical professionals – names, dates of birth, addresses, DEA numbers, the works. This wasn’t just a data scrape; they went further, creating fake driver’s licenses and even bribing employees at telecom companies to perform illegal SIM swaps, hijacking the doctors’ phone numbers to solidify the illusion.

The operation wasn’t amateur hour. One co-conspirator reportedly grilled a pharmacy technician, learning the subtle nuances of legitimate e-prescriptions to avoid raising red flags. This allowed Washington and his crew to open fraudulent e-prescribing accounts in the names of the stolen identities. From September 2020 to May 2023, they submitted at least 5,600 fraudulent prescriptions, primarily for potent controlled substances like oxycodone and promethazine with codeine.

The co-conspirators weren’t content to simply fill the prescriptions; they personally picked up the drugs from pharmacies across the country, including locations in the Los Angeles area, and then flipped them for a substantial profit. The scale of the operation suggests a well-organized network with a clear understanding of how to exploit vulnerabilities in the healthcare system.

Benjamin Jamal Washington pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He remains in federal custody awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for January 13, 2026. He faces a statutory maximum of 42 years behind bars, including a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence tacked on for the aggravated identity theft charge.

The investigation was a joint effort by the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello, Elizabeth S.P. Douglas, and Matthew J. Tako are prosecuting the case. This case serves as a stark reminder of the lengths criminals will go to exploit the prescription drug market and the critical need for robust security measures to protect sensitive medical data.