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Najam Azmat, Pill-Mill Doctor, Guilty of 51 Counts, Georgia 2023
Savannah, GA – A federal jury has found Najam Azmat, 57, of Waycross, Georgia, guilty of 51 counts related to his role in running a phony pain clinic in Garden City, Georgia. Azmat was found guilty of conspiring to dispense oxycodone and other drugs without a legitimate medical purpose, 49 counts of dispensing without legitimate medical purpose, and conspiracy to launder money.
Azmat faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on each count and will be sentenced at a future date. According to evidence presented at the trial, Azmat worked at East Health Center from February 21 to March 18, 2011, writing prescriptions for 196 patients, 96% of whom received prescriptions for oxycodone, a powerful and highly addictive painkiller.
Patients typically paid $300 to be seen by Azmat or one of the other doctors who worked at East Health Center following Azmat’s departure on March 18, 2011. Nearly two-thirds of the patients seen by Azmat traveled long distances to receive their prescriptions, often coming from Kentucky, Ohio, and Florida.
Azmat was paid $2,000 per day, typically in cash, at the end of each day he worked. The trial revealed that the clinic organizers at rival pill-mill clinics in Florida used aggressive marketing techniques to lure patients to East Health Center.
Azmat was indicted with five co-defendants, who have pleaded guilty to related offenses before trial. Sean Michael Clark, Adelaida M. Lizama, Daniel John Wise, Candace Anne Carreras, and Shelly Lynn Morford all pleaded guilty to conspiracy and misprision of felony charges.
Additionally, other targets of the investigation have pleaded guilty to offenses related to the phony pain clinic operation and are awaiting sentencing. Adelard LeFrancois, III, and Francis J. Barbuscia each pleaded guilty to conspiring to knowingly and intentionally distribute and dispense controlled substances, while Konstantinos Afthinos pleaded guilty to misprision of felony. Dr. Kenneth Gossett also pleaded guilty to conspiring to knowingly and intentionally dispense controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose.
Nuvest LLC, a Florida corporation that financed the startup costs for East Health Center, pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises and forfeited $2,000,000, representing the funds used to launch and operate the clinic.
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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