A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict for a Wichita-area pharmacist on charges of unlawfully dispensing opioid prescription drugs.
46-year-old Ebube Otuonye of Bel Aire was convicted of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription drugs, unlawfully distributing prescription drugs, and health care fraud.
Prosecutors said the crimes occurred while Otuonye owned and operated Neighborhood Pharmacy at 2810 East 21st in Wichita. He filled prescriptions for patients of Dr. Steven Henson, who was convicted last year of unlawfully distributing prescription drugs outside the usual course of professional medical practice. Henson was given a life sentence.
Prosecutors said during the trial that Henson’s patients had difficulty filling his prescriptions at pharmacies other than Neighborhood Pharmacy. Prosecutors also presented evidence that showed Henson’s patients took their prescriptions to Otuonye himself because another pharmacist at Neighborhood Pharmacy refused to fill them.
Otuonye filled prescriptions for more than 21,600 tablets of oxycodone, more than 48,600 tablets of methadone, more than 18,000 tablets of hydromorphone and more than 7,800 tablets of alprazolam. Prosecutors said that Otuonye submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for filling Henson’s prescriptions.
Otuonye will be sentenced on October 23rd. He faces up to 10 to 20 years in prison and fines from $250,000 up to $1 million.
