Joshua Radcliffe, Gun Crime, West Virginia 2023

A former HOPE Clinic manager, Joshua Radcliffe, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for conspiring to use and carry firearms in relation to maintaining drug-involved premises.

Radcliffe, 36, of Shady Springs, previously pled guilty to the crime in a federal court in West Virginia.

United States Attorney Mike Stuart announced the sentencing, stating, "Even though Joshua Radcliffe was not a prescribing physician, today he was held accountable for his role in fueling the opioid epidemic in West Virginia."

The opioid crisis ravaged the state, affecting every citizen in one way or another, and Stuart emphasized, "The opiate crisis ravaged our good state and affected every single citizen in one way or another. We are holding everyone accountable for the roles they played."

From 2010 through 2015, Radcliffe was employed with Patients, Physicians and Pharmacists Fighting Diversion (PPPFD), Inc., the company that managed the daily operations of the HOPE Clinic. As the Clinic Manager, Radcliffe ran the daily operations of the clinics and admitted to making medical decisions that should have been made by the physicians.

The investigation was conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, and the West Virginia State Police, among others.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Monica D. Coleman and Steven Loew handled the prosecution.

Radcliffe's crime was part of a larger investigation into the opioid epidemic in West Virginia. The HOPE Clinic was predominately a cash-based business, and physicians issued prescriptions for oxycodone to customers not for legitimate medical purposes and outside the bounds of professional medical practice.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/hope-clinic-manager-sentenced-federal-prison-gun-crime