Ivan Lamont Robinson, Oxycodone Distribution, Washington District of Columbia 2017

A nurse practitioner from Washington D.C. has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and laundering money. Ivan Lamont Robinson, 50, was found guilty by a federal jury of 42 federal charges, including distributing oxycodone outside the legitimate scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, and two counts of money laundering.

The opioid crisis has been exacerbated by illegal pill-mill operations such as the one operated by Ivan Lamont Robinson, according to the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The prosecution illustrates the continued commitment of law enforcement partners to combat opioid abuse and bring to justice those who commit crimes related to this issue.

Robinson ran a pain management clinic in the 2000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, where he sold prescriptions to customers in exchange for $370 in blank money orders. Customers came from outside the District of Columbia to purchase identical prescriptions, 60 tablets of 30 milligrams of oxycodone.

Through his position as a nurse practitioner, Robinson had authority to prescribe oxycodone to patients under District of Columbia law. However, the government’s evidence showed that Robinson provided no real medical treatment, and there was no medical basis to prescribe oxycodone. Further, the government’s evidence showed that Robinson deposited over $100,000 in money orders from customers during a four-month period in 2013.

The trial took place in July and August of 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, before the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. Robinson was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $108,000.

The opioid crisis that we are currently facing is further exacerbated by illegal pill-mill operations such as the one operated in this matter, said Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. This is a serious public health issue in which the safety of the public must be addressed and dealt with appropriately.

Tens of thousands of Americans die from opioid-related overdose every year, a public health crisis only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration. We will not stand for criminals such as this, who are exploiting our health care systems and fueling the overdoses crisis in our area.

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