Prominent Livonian Doctor Sentenced to Jail for Painkiller Fraud Scheme

Officials said a well-known doctor from Livonia was sentenced to prison for being involved in a massive fraud scheme in which millions of potentially harmful drugs were prescribed.

Dr. Frank Patino, who was 68 years old, was well known in the fitness and mixed martial arts communities. He wrote a book called The Patino Diet based on his diet plan. On the morning of June 27, 2018, he was taken into custody, and the offices of his company Patino Laboratories, which were located in Livonia, were searched by federal agents.
According to the prosecution, Patino prescribed stronger opioids to patients in the hope that they would become addicted to the drugs and continue to buy more.

Patino has prescribed over 2 million potentially harmful and addictive drugs such as oxycodone and fentanyl, leading to accusations that he cheated $112 million worth of Medicaid. Patino was charged with this crime.

According to the authorities, he administered the drugs to so many patients that he found it necessary to post guards in the parking lot of his premises.

According to federal government officials, Patino used part of the fraudulent Medicaid refunds to fund his sponsorship of mixed martial artists who wore their lab’s name on their shorts.

On Monday (January 30, 2023), Patino was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison and ordered to pay $30 million in damages to Medicare and other insurance companies.

According to the prosecution, Patino was responsible for “one of the most outrageous health care schemes in the history of the United States.”

According to the Associated Press, a Justice Department prosecutor named Steven Scott said in a lawsuit that Patino “consistently increased the effectiveness of the opioids he prescribed for about five years, eventually making him the top prescriber of 30 milligrams of oxycodone for about five years.” . state of Michigan.

Scott’s comments were made in connection with a statement Patino made in court.

Patino has maintained his innocence since Monday, and his lawyer has demanded a new trial, alleging that the previous lawyer did not adequately handle the case.

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