Frank Parasmo, MD, was sentenced to 36 months in prison after he was convicted on 32 counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern Disctrict of New York said May 26.
Dr. Parasmo gave the oxycodone to 18 patients without a "legitimate medical purpose" between January 2014 to February 2015, according to a news release. The patients had left detox treatment or been discharged from hospitals following an overdose. Dr. Parasmo also issued prescriptions to people he knew were taking illegal drugs.
Between 2010 and 2015, Dr. Parasmo prescribed more than 1.5 million oxycodone and hydrocodone pills and was one of the top prescribers of the painkillers in New York state during that period. After learning the DEA was investigating his practices, he cut his prescription volume in half.
Along with his sentence, Dr. Parasmo recieved three years of supervised release.