John Michael “Mike” Gowder, James Heaton, and George David Gowder have been sentenced to federal prison. Both Mike Gowder and Heaton were convicted on October 24, 2019, after a two-week jury trial on 102 counts related to illegally prescribing and obtaining more than 15,000 doses of prescription pain medications outside the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. In addition, Heaton was convicted of 27 counts of issuing illegitimate prescriptions to two female patients. David Gowder pleaded guilty on March 15, 2019, to illegally dispensing opiates outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. From 2011 to 2015, Mike Gowder served as the Chief Operating Officer and later Chief Executive Officer of Union General Hospital in Blairsville, Georgia. Dr. James Heaton operated a family practice clinic in Blairsville and worked as the Medical Director of the Nursing Home of the Hospital. Dr. David Gowder was the Emergency Room Director of the hospital and a member of the Hospital’s Board of Directors (until April 2015).
The defendants in this case have been sentenced as follows:
- John Michael “Mike” Gowder, 62, of Nashville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
- Dr. James Heaton, 63, of Blairsville, Georgia, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
- Dr. David Gowder, 63, of Blairsville, Georgia, was sentenced to one year, six months in prison on June 10, 2020, after pleading guilty to illegally dispensing opiates outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
