Scranton, Pa., pain management physician Kurt Moran, MD, agreed to forfeit $134,000 as part of a plea agreement for allegedly distributing opioids illegally, the Justice Department said Dec. 6.
From 2014 to 2017, Dr. Moran allegedly conspired with an unnamed company to receive bribes in exchange for prescribing sublingual fentanyl spray to his patients, according to the Justice Department statement. He was allegedly paid about $140,000 over a two-year period to prescribe the drug to patients who didn't need it.
Dr. Moran's distribution of the drug allegedly caused the death of one person, the statement said.
"In illegally prescribing these highly addictive and dangerous drugs, [Dr. Moran] often did so without conducting a meaningful physical examination to verify the claimed illness or condition, and at times without even seeing the patients — all while knowing that such illegal practices could result in overdoses, dependence, addiction and, in at least one case, death," said United States Attorney John Gurganus.
Dr. Moran surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration registration on Sept. 18, 2020, the statement said. His license to practice medicine in Pennsylvania was suspended on Oct. 7, 2020.