Vestavia Hills cardiologist Steven Bruce Hefter, 61, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison Wednesday for running a high-volume opioid prescription mill under the guise of pain management. Hefter, who had no specialization in pain care, admitted to flooding Alabama communities with hundreds of thousands of potent painkillers while operating out of the now-shuttered Cindy Dunn & Dr. Buckingham, M.D., Weight Loss Clinic and Pain Management (CDPM) in Moody.
U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler handed down the 87-month sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered Hefter to forfeit $38,000 in illicit proceeds. The doctor must report to the Bureau of Prisons by June 30. Hefter pleaded guilty in December 2017 to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances outside the usual scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose—a charge stemming from his actions between 2012 and 2016.
CDPM operated as a cash-only pill mill, processing 40 to 80 patients daily with no real medical oversight. Patients were rarely examined—there wasn’t even an exam table on site—and Hefter issued pre-signed prescriptions while absent from the clinic. From late 2015 alone, Hefter wrote 2,785 prescriptions for 279,665 opioid pills, mostly oxycodone, often for months or years without alternative treatment.
‘There is no hiding behind the white coat or white shoes,’ said U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town. ‘You will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will occupy a federal prison bed. We will even leave the light on for you.’ The DOJ branded the case a stark warning to medical providers exploiting their licenses to fuel the opioid epidemic.
IRS-Criminal Investigation and the DEA dismantled the operation after tracking suspicious billing and distribution patterns. ‘This sentence should serve as a warning to any medical professional considering exploiting their patients for profit,’ said IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Holloman. ‘You will pay a steep price.’ DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay Morris added that physicians who abandon their Hippocratic Oath will be met with relentless investigation.
Hefter surrendered his Alabama medical license and federal DEA registration in early 2018. Prosecutors emphasized that his cardiology background offered no cover for his criminal conduct. ‘You are not above the law,’ said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib. ‘When you are caught, justice awaits.’ The case was prosecuted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation.
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Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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