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Two Doctors Indicted For Illegally Contributing To Overdose Deaths Of At Least Six Former Patients

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Taylor Giles Contributor
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Drs. William Lawrence Siefert and Timothy Ehn were indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Kentucky for allegedly being involved in a conspiracy “to illegally distribute opioids and commit health care fraud.”

The conspiracy that Ehn and Siefert were allegedly part of contributed to the opioid overdoses of at least six of their former patients, according to a Department of Justice press release issued Thursday.

Both Ehn and Siefert were working out of the Northern Kentucky Center for Pain Relief in Florence, Kentucky. Ehn was the clinic’s owner, according to the DOJ. (RELATED: Walmart Fueled Opioid Epidemic By Filling Illegitimate Prescriptions Regularly, DOJ Lawsuit Alleges)

Authorities are accusing the doctors of offering opioids to patients seeking drugs that did not need them. Ehn and Seifert also billed millions of dollars to Medicaid for “medically unnecessary urinalysis testing” for their patients.

Siefert and Ehn have been charged with “one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.”  Siefert was also charged with “three counts of health care fraud and 11 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances.”

The indictments come the same month McKinsey & Co. reached a $573 million settlement with various states for its involvement in the opioid crisis.