Timothy Shawl, Oxycodone Distribution, Pennsylvania 2019

A Delaware County doctor has pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing oxycodone to patients in a 'pill mill' case.

Timothy Shawl, 60, of Garnet Valley, PA, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Court Judge R. Barclay Surrick on five counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

The charges against Shawl were brought as part of a coordinated healthcare fraud enforcement action across seven federal districts, involving more than $800 million in loss and more than 3.25 million opioid pills distributed in 'pill mill' clinics.

During his guilty plea today, Shawl admitted that he wrote oxycodone prescriptions that were not for a legitimate medical purpose, and which were in fact issued without Shawl treating, examining, or even seeing the patients who received the prescriptions.

Shawl further admitted that, with regard to one patient, he had not conducted a physical examination on the patient for at least five years, despite regularly prescribing controlled substances to the patient. This patient died on Jan. 7, 2019, just three days after Shawl last prescribed oxycodone for her, and the cause of death was drug intoxication.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams praised the guilty plea, saying, 'Today's guilty plea from Dr. Shawl is the tangible result of the Healthcare Fraud Strike Force delivering on its mission to stop fraud, waste, and abuse within our federal health care programs and to stem the tide of illegal opioid distribution.'

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from task force officers from the Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Trial Attorney Debra Jaroslawicz of the Criminal Division's Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

Mandatory Facts:

1. Defendant: Timothy Shawl

2. Criminal Charges: Five counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances

3. City and State: Philadelphia, PA

4. Date: September 2019 (charged by Indictment), January 2019 (patient's death)

5. Sentence: Timothy Shawl pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing

6. Dollar Amounts: Over $800 million in loss, over 3.25 million opioid pills distributed

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/delaware-county-doctor-pleads-guilty-unlawfully-distributing-oxycodone-patients-pill