A family medicine physician in West Virginia was found guilty on charges of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and destroying evidence of his crimes.
David Elwood Hess, MD, 60, of Bridgeport, W.Va., was convicted of four counts of improper prescribing and one count of destroying records in a federal investigation, according to an April 18 news release from the Justice Department. Dr. Hess wrote prescriptions for Adderall for his patients without legitimate medical purpose and beyond the realm of professional practice. He also remotely wiped the data from his phone after it had been seized by law enforcement.
Dr. Hess surrendered his medical license and his license to prescribe controlled substances in April 2023, according to the West Virginia board of medicine's website. He will be sentenced after a pre-sentencing report is completed, according to the release.