Madison Heights, MI — Dr. Rodney Moret, 67, was sentenced today to 75 months in federal prison for running a Southfield clinic that operated as a criminal pill mill and defrauding Medicare of over $6 million. The former physician illegally distributed more than $15 million worth of prescription opioids and controlled substances through Advance Care Services (ACS), a so-called pain management clinic that served as a front for drug trafficking across Southeast Michigan.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider announced the sentence, detailing how Moret, as the sole practitioner at ACS, issued medically unnecessary prescriptions for Hydrocodone, Alprazolam, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup after cursory or nonexistent exams. The clinic, owned by Jorge Azar and managed daily by Jellie Villalon, operated from 2010 to 2015, funneling over 700,000 dosage units of Hydrocodone, more than 240,000 of Alprazolam, and over 2 million milliliters of codeine cough syrup into the black market via patient marketers.
Moret pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Investigators found that Medicare was billed for examinations and procedures that were never performed. The scheme generated over $21 million in total illicit proceeds—$15 million from street-level drug sales and $6 million from fraudulent billing—while putting patients at grave risk and fueling the region’s opioid epidemic.
But the corruption ran deeper. Court statements revealed that Moret sexually molested and harassed female patients who came seeking prescriptions, exploiting their vulnerability for personal gratification. These predatory acts, conducted under the guise of medical treatment, added a layer of depravity to an already brazen criminal enterprise disguised as health care.
“Physicians who divert prescription drugs to the street market are contributing to the drug epidemic in the country, and we are focusing our enforcement efforts on stopping them,” Schneider stated. Lamont Pugh, Special Agent in Charge of the HHS Office of Inspector General, added, “Prescribing controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose is illegal. These actions put patient health and safety at risk.”
Timothy Waters, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, emphasized the agency’s commitment: “Rodney Moret, a former physician, intentionally fueled the local opioid epidemic by over prescribing addictive medications to patients for his own personal gain.” The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, underscores the federal crackdown on medical professionals weaponizing their licenses for profit and destruction.
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Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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