An indictment was unsealed charging nine individuals with conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs. Charged in the indictment were Dr. Charles Wasson, 70, Orchard Lake, MI; Dr. Maurice Potts, 65, Detroit, MI; Dr. Bruce Kaplan, 83, Commerce Township, MI; Sharlene Dawson (aka Sharlene Crawford), 55, Detroit, MI; Desiree King, 41, Sterling Heights, MI; Lanise Gortman, 53, Warren, MI; Aaron Thomas, 42, Southfield, MI; Valecia Logan, 33, Detroit, MI; and Antoine Arnold, 38, Mt. Clemens, MI. The indictment alleges that from June 2021 through September 2024, Sharlene Dawson (aka Sharlene Crawford), owner of P&A Aftercare, located in Southfield, Michigan, hired Drs. Charles Wasson, Maurice Potts, and Bruce Kaplan to issue controlled substance prescriptions for a cadre of “fake” patients, without medical necessity and outside the usual course of professional medical practice, in exchange for cash payments.
According to the indictment, the “fake” patients were recruited by Lanise Gortman, Aaron Thomas, Valecia Logan, and Antoine Arnold. These recruiters would fill the prescription at area pharmacies and sell the controlled substances on the street. The indictment further alleges that Desiree King ran the front office at P&A Aftercare and worked closely with the recruiters to facilitate the issuance of the controlled substance prescriptions. The primary prescription controlled substances illegally prescribed by the doctors named in the indictment included Schedule II controlled substances Oxycodone, Oxycodone-Acetaminophen (Percocet), and Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen (Norco). While most of the unlawful controlled substance prescriptions were paid for in cash, both controlled and non-controlled “maintenance” medications were billed to healthcare benefit programs by pharmacies. It is also alleged that billings to the Medicare and Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary prescription drug medications and maintenance medications during this conspiracy exceeded $20 million.
