Virginia doctor pleads guilty for dealing oxycodone on the side

by: Lauren C. Williams Feb 15, 2013

Virginia physician Larren Wade could be sentenced to up to 20 years for peddling oxycodone for profit to people without a legitimate medical reason for using the drug.

Wade, who practiced in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty Feb. 13 to conspiring to distribute oxycodone, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA’s) news release.

In 2010, Wade attested to doling out thousands of prescriptions for pain medications -- sometimes amounting to more than 2,000 pills per patient each month – without an E/M visit, record review or established treatment plan, the DEA says. The doctor usually saw 50 patients a day – and at times up to 100 patients – collecting upwards of $10,000 in cash a day.

“Larren Wade selfishly exploited his profession by operating a drug-distribution business that supplied dangerous prescription pain killers to individuals with no valid medical need,” said Valerie Parlave, FBI assistant director in Washington, D.C., of the undercover sting, “Operation Cotton Candy,” which aims to weed out illegal distribution of prescription drugs.

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