(WXYZ) — Six people from metro Detroit, including a doctor and the owners of a medical clinic, have been charged with conspiring to distribute prescription drugs.
Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin announced Monday charges against six people who worked at Tranquility Wellness Center in Dearborn and then St. Clair Shores for allegedly dispensing a large number of prescription opioids to people who did not have a medical need for the drugs.
Janeice Burrell, 36, of Macomb Township, allegedly owned Tranquility Wellness Center and operated it with Angelo Smith, 44, from Macomb Township.
Out of the clinic, Dr. Lawrence Sherman, 72, from Shelby Township, allegedly prescribed oxycodone and oxymorphone to supposed patients who didn't need the drugs.
It is alleged that Burrell and Smith accepted only cash and charged patients based on the quantity and type of opioids they received.
According to an indictment, the feds allege Sherman issued for than 441,000 doses of opioids between March 2020 and June 2021 with a street value of more than $6.6 million.
The feds allege Peter Burrell, Jr., 52, worked as a recruiter who brought patients into the clinic
“This indictment shows our continued commitment to investigate and charge those who fuel the opioid crisis in this state,” Mohsin said in a release. “This case is particularly troubling in that it involves greedy medical professionals who profited from prescribing and dispensing medically unnecessary drugs to individuals without regard to medical necessity.”
