An orthopedic surgeon from Claremore was sentenced to five months in prison and eight months of house arrest for writing fake prescriptions to fuel his drug habit.
Jeremy David Thomas, 43, was convicted on five counts of drug conspiracy.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Thomas and co-conspirators diverted more than 13,740 doses of hydrocodone during a two-year period, mainly for the physician’s illegal personal use.
“Dr. Thomas was a drug dealer like any other whose business it was to peddle opioids and addiction in our community. But unlike a typical drug dealer, he also performed surgeries on patients. Moreover, he was under the influence during those surgeries,” U.S. Attorney Trent Shores said. “Opioid addiction destroys lives. Not only of the addict, but of those around them. This case showcases the destructive power of opioids.”
Thomas pleaded guilty in November to writing fraudulent prescriptions for the opioid hydrocodone to multiple co-conspirators who were his patients. His accomplices then filled the prescriptions at area pharmacies and delivered some or all of the hydrocodone tablets to Thomas, Shores said.
Thomas also was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and given three years of supervised release.
Also implicated in the drug conspiracies were Jeffrey Lee Koger, 48, of Claremore; Joseph Marcus Jones, 36, of Claremore; Toni Dawn Martin, 49, of Owasso; Shawn Del Martin, 50, of Owasso; and Chad Lee Choat, 46, of Claremore.
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