Doctor cleared in charges from Carmel DEA raid
Dr. Larry Ley was found not guilty this week after a bench trial in Hamilton County Superior Court on charges stemming from a high-profile DEA raid involving several medical clinics.
In July 2014, local police and federal agents with the DEA arrested doctors and staff affiliated with the Drug Opiate Recovery Network (DORN) on charges of selling prescription painkillers to their patients, calling the operation a pill mill during an ensuing news conference. Doctors working in clinics in Hamilton, Howard, Delaware and Wayne counties prescribed the medication for patients with drug addictions.
The case has been unraveling since the arrests as the defendants have maintained their innocence and questioned the validity of the accusations. Charges have since been dismissed against nine of the 12 suspects — everyone but three doctors.
Judge Steve Nation found Ley had met all of the standards for prescribing medicine for drug addiction after a bench trial Aug. 8-16 in Noblesville.
"There was no indication this was nothing other than prescribing for a legitimate medical purpose," said defense attorney Jim Crum. "They obviously didn’t like the way he went about his practice, but every bit of evidence suggested he was treating people with opiate dependency, opiate addiction and prescribing appropriate doses."
The legal fight, though, will continue for Ley and two other doctors.
Prosecutors in Howard County are pursuing charges against Dr. Luella Bangura and Ley. Wayne County is pursuing charges against Dr. Ronald Vierk and Ley. Officials with those two prosecutor's offices could not be reached for comment Thursday.
In charging documents, authorities accused the doctors of illegally providing patients with prescriptions for Suboxone, a semi-synthetic medication that treats heroin addiction, in exchange for cash. The network, known as DORN, operated clinics in Carmel, Noblesville, Muncie, Kokomo and Centerville. All clinics are closed.
At the time of the raid, authorities said thousands of patients streamed into the clinics, and consultations would take minutes or less. Patients paid up to $160 to obtain prescriptions, authorities said, and doctors pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In February 2015, Nation dismissed cases against six staff members, ruling they were improperly charged and couldn't prepare a proper defense. Essentially, Nation said doctors, not staff, are legally responsible for the prescriptions they write.
The cleared staff members are seeking monetary damages from drug agents, police agencies and cities involved in the arrests in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
The former employees are Cassy Bratcher, Carmel; Jessica Callahan, Muncie; Andrew Dollard, Noblesville; Eric Ley, Noblesville; Joeseph Mackey, Howard County; Yvonne Morgan, Eaton, Ohio; Felicia Reid, Carmel; and Derek Tislow, Avon.
Dollard, who was the clinic's attorney and a former candidate for Hamilton County Council, also unsuccessfully sought to disbar several prosecutors involved in the case.
Dollard also has filed a civil lawsuit accusing Current Publishing in Carmel of defamation for its news reporting in relation to the drug raid. A trial has been scheduled for 2017.
Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich and at Facebook/chris.sikich.