Port Orange, Florida – Michael Morgan Dietch, a 60-year-old doctor, was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for his role in a pill mill operation in Port Orange.
According to court documents, Dietch was a licensed physician in Florida who, between June 2011 and August 2012, prescribed Schedule II, III, and IV controlled substances such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, Morphine, and Methadone to 150 to 200 patients.
During this time, he arranged via text message for patients to come to his apartment, where he would provide the prescriptions. Dietch saw as many as 18 patients per day and charged $100 to $150 in cash for an appointment that generally lasted less than 10 minutes.
Many of Dietch’s patients were drug addicts who sold and traded their prescription pills with Dietch’s knowledge. On two occasions, Dietch bonded two of his patients out of a local jail for drug-related charges and then kept them on as patients, writing prescriptions for them for controlled substances. Dietch also wrote prescriptions for some patients who would have them filled but then gave the pills back to him. Dietch would then use some of these pills himself and provide the remaining pills to others.
“This was a fitting sentence for someone who abused his physician’s license to peddle dangerous, deadly, addictive substances without any demonstrated medical need,” said Sheriff Michael Chitwood.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Volusia Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn P. Napier.
Dietch pleaded guilty on October 28, 2016, to the charges of distribution of Schedule II controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice, without a legitimate medical purpose.
The sentencing took place on [no date specified].
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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