ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Shriharsh Laxman Pole, 65, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was sentenced today to more than seven years in federal prison for running a sprawling pill mill that flooded communities with over 600,000 oxycodone pills. The former physician exploited pain management patients, pushing highly addictive opioids without medical justification from clinics operating under a thin veil of legitimacy.
Pole, once licensed to heal, instead weaponized his medical knowledge. After voluntarily surrendering his medical license in 2009 and again in 2013 — both times admitting to reckless opiate prescribing — he simply rebranded. He launched Excel Medical Clinic (EMC), operating out of the same Woodbridge office, using the same staff and patient roster. There, he circumvented the law by enlisting nurse-practitioner Janelle Hibson, 63, of Fredericksburg, who pleaded guilty to the same charges on September 6. Hibson pre-signed prescriptions that Pole later completed and distributed, often without a single exam.
Patients walked in, paid cash, and walked out with dangerous narcotics. No diagnostics. No treatment plans. Just pills. Between 2013 and 2015, Pole orchestrated the illegal distribution of more than 600,000 oxycodone-laced tablets. These weren’t rare exceptions — they were the business model. The clinic served as a pharmaceutical pipeline for addicts and resellers, feeding the opioid crisis engulfing the Eastern District of Virginia.
“Pole’s repeated and callous actions endangered the community,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Pole put highly addictive, dangerous drugs into the hands of scores of customers that had no actual need for them. It is exactly the type of irresponsible behavior that continues to fuel the opioid epidemic that is gripping our communities. The Eastern District will remain dogged in its pursuit of heroin traffickers, illicit fentanyl, and dirty practitioners like this as we continue to fight this three-front battle against opioids.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office under Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Ben’Ary and David Peters. Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton handed down the sentence, marking a rare conviction of a medical professional turned drug distributor operating in plain sight.
Court records, including related documents for Case No. 1:18-cr-303, are available through the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and PACER. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia issued the official press release, underscoring a broader crackdown on rogue medical providers profiting from America’s opioid nightmare.
Related Federal Cases
- Dr. Shriharsh Pole Gets 7 Years for 600K Oxycodone Pills Scheme · Washington
- Donald Russell, 53, Gets 5 Years for Pill Mill Conspiracy · Maryland
- Daniel Webster Ray Jr. Gets 5 Years for Oxycodone Scheme · Maryland
- Juan Gallinal Gets 8 Years for Online Pill Mill Scheme · Washington
- Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Doping Scheme · West Virginia
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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