Michael Jennings, Phendimetrazine Dispensing, Illinois 2016

CHICAGO — The owner of a Lombard weight-loss center and a Burr Ridge physician have been charged with conspiracy and other crimes related to dispensing appetite-suppressant drugs without a legitimate medical purpose.

Michael Jennings, 48, of Naperville, and Dr. William Mikaitis, 72, of Burr Ridge, were charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances outside the course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, seven counts of distributing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, seven counts of dispensing prescription drugs without a valid prescription, and one count of conspiracy to conduct a financial transaction involving the proceeds of unlawful activity.

According to a 17-count federal indictment, Jennings, the owner of Results Weight Loss Center, made cash payments to Dr. Mikaitis in exchange for using the physician’s federal registration number to order and dispense hundreds of thousands of dosages of Phendimetrazine and Phentermine. The physician was rarely present at the weight-loss center, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges that between approximately February 2013 and January 2015, Jennings made cash deposits of approximately $75,000 into Dr. Mikaitis’ bank account. The indictment seeks a total forfeiture from the defendants of approximately $790,000 in illegal proceeds from the scheme.

The indictment was returned yesterday in federal court in Chicago. It charges Jennings and Dr. Mikaitis will be arraigned before U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall on June 9, 2016, at 9:30 a.m.

The maximum combined sentence for the counts is 95 years in prison. Dr. Mikaitis is also charged individually with one count of engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property valued at more than $10,000, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.

The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Chicago Office and the Naperville Police Department assisted in the investigation.

An indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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