Reno physician Eric Math, 50, stands accused of turning his medical license into a license to kill, indicted along with seven others in a sprawling opioid trafficking scheme that flooded Nevada and California with oxycodone and hydrocodone. Federal authorities unsealed the charges today, painting a picture of a criminal enterprise disguised as medical practice—one that put painkillers directly into the hands of drug dealers and addicts alike.
The indictment names Myron Motley, 55, of Richmond, California; Michael Kwoka, 56, of Fair Oaks; Michael Slater, 42, of Reno; Joseph Jeannette, 51, of Reno; Ivy Elliott, 35, of Reno; and Alesia Sampson, 56, of Grass Valley, California—all charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute oxycodone. Motley and Elliott face additional charges for methamphetamine trafficking. Motley is also charged with four counts of oxycodone distribution and one count involving hydrocodone. Math and Slater each face one count of distributing both oxycodone and hydrocodone, while Kwoka and Elliott are charged with one count of oxycodone distribution. In a separate indictment, Motley and Randy Raihall, 58, of Reno, are charged with distributing oxycodone.
According to federal prosecutors, the conspiracy ran from January 2018 to May 2019, during which Dr. Math allegedly wrote prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone—both Schedule II controlled substances—with no legitimate medical purpose and far outside the bounds of professional practice. These weren’t pain management cases; they were paychecks in pill form. The drugs funneled through a network stretching from Reno clinics to California street corners, feeding an epidemic that continues to ravage communities.
Arrests unfolded this morning across multiple states. Motley was taken into custody in Richmond and will face U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore in Oakland. Kwoka and Sampson were arrested in Fair Oaks and Grass Valley and will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney in Sacramento. Meanwhile, Math, Jeannette, Slater, Elliott, and Raihall are scheduled for arraignment at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carla Baldwin Carry in Reno.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. Each count of oxycodone and hydrocodone distribution carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison, with a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $10,000,000 fine. The CDC has repeatedly warned that oxycodone and hydrocodone are among the most common drugs in prescription opioid overdose deaths—substances so potent and addictive they’ve fueled a national crisis.
This case was the result of a massive joint investigation involving the FBI, Reno Police Department, Nevada Highway Patrol, Department of Welfare and Social Services Nevada, Office of the Attorney General, Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Department of Corrections, Nevada Gaming Control Board, Sparks Police Department, University of Nevada-Reno Police Department, and IRS-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Keller is prosecuting. One thing bears repeating: an indictment is not a conviction. These defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. But when the pills are flowing like cash and doctors become dealers, the line between healer and predator blurs—one that federal law enforcement is determined to draw in blood.
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Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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