A Silverthorne man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in a widespread conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in Colorado.
Keith A. Schwartz, 47, was sentenced last week by Senior U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to serve 180 months in federal prison for conspiracy, distribution of a controlled substance, and money laundering, U.S. Attorney John Walsh announced.
Following his prison sentence, Schwartz was ordered to serve six years on supervised release. Schwartz was convicted by a jury on October 24, 2014, following a 14-day trial. The jury deliberated for a day and a half before returning a verdict of guilty.
Schwartz was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on May 22, 2013. According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, Schwartz, in conjunction with co-conspirators, knowingly conspired and agreed to dispense and distribute, or facilitate the dispensing and distribution of controlled substances, to patients at times and in circumstances outside the usual course of professional medical practice. He then laundered the proceeds from the patients through bank accounts in his wife’s name.
The primary prescription drug involved in the case was Oxycodone, with over 500,000 dosage units prescribed in an 18-month period. Schwartz used an alias to approach a pain doctor named Kevin Clemmer in May 2011, who was housed in the Federal Detention Center in Englewood, Colorado. Schwartz offered to purchase Clemmer’s patient lists, most of whom received substantially more narcotic or other controlled substance medication than was medically necessary.
The relationship among the co-conspirators began in the summer of 2009, when Schwartz recruited Dr. Ferrara to write medical marijuana recommendations to support Schwartz’s marijuana growing in his house. Schwartz laundered the money obtained by the pain clinic by placing it in bank accounts in corporations in the name of his wife. Schwartz used some of the illegally obtained money to purchase his $1.6 million house out of foreclosure.
For a fistful of dollars, Defendant Schwartz stoked the epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is killing hundreds of Coloradans every year, said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.
Schwartz remains in custody and will begin serving his sentence.
The case is a reminder of the devastating consequences of prescription drug abuse and the importance of holding individuals accountable for their actions.
Related Federal Cases
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- Alexis Nicole Wilkins, Fentanyl Distribution, Colorado 2022 · Colorado
- Tomas Camargo-Chavez, Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, Oklahoma 2013 · Arkansas
- McKesson Corporation, Opioid Distribution Failures, Colorado 2008 · Florida
- R&S Drug Stores, Inc, Controlled Substance Act Violations, Oklahoma 2016 · Kansas
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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