Malik Fuqua, 49, the owner of a Detroit, Michigan-area physical therapy clinic, pleaded guilty for his role in a drug diversion scheme. Fuqua was the owner and operator of 1st Priority Physical Therapy, and also assisted in the day-to-day operations of Abyssinia Love Knot Physical Therapy LLC, which was purportedly a pain management and physical therapy clinic. As part of his guilty plea, Fuqua admitted that he conspired with others to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and that he oversaw physicians who would write medically unnecessary prescriptions for controlled substances, such as oxycodone and oxymorphone. Fuqua admittedly facilitated patient visits with doctors, and accepted payment from patients and patient recruiters/marketers in exchange for physician visits at which he knew that prescriptions for medically unnecessary controlled substances would be provided. Medicare beneficiaries were required to sign physical therapy documents as a condition to receive prescriptions for controlled substances, regardless of medical necessity, Fuqua admitted. The total drug amount attributable to Fuqua is in excess of 500,000 oxycodone pills, he admitted.
