2 weeks Ago
Two Oakland County doctors, the owner of an Oakland County clinic, and another Oakland County resident are among nine people named in a federal indictment charging them in a multi-million dollar conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs. Charged in the indictment, unsealed Sept. 20, are: • Dr.
Charles Wasson, 70, Orchard Lake • Dr. Maurice Potts, 65, Detroit • Dr. Bruce Kaplan, 83, Commerce Township • Sharlene Dawson (aka Sharlene Crawford), 55, Detroit • Desiree King, 41, Sterling Heights • Lanise Gortman, 53, Warren • Aaron Thomas, 42, Southfield • Valecia Logan, 33, Detroit •Antoine Arnold, 38, Mt.
Clemens As alleged in the indictment, from June 2021 through September 2024, Dawson (aka Crawford) hired Wasson, Potts and Kaplan to prescribe controlled substances for “fake” patients through her clinic, P&A Aftercare, in Southfield. The prescriptions — primarily Oxycodone, Oxycodone-Acetaminophen (Percocet), and Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen (Norco) — were medically unnecessary and outside “the usual course of professional medical practice, in exchange for cash payments,” the indictment states. According to the indictment, Gortman, Thomas, Logan and Arnold recruited the “fake” patients, the prescriptions were filled at area pharmacies and the drugs were sold on the street.
King is alleged to have run the clinic’s front office and worked closely to “facilitate the issuance of the controlled substance prescriptions.” Most of the prescriptions were paid for in cash, while both controlled and non-controlled “maintenance” medications were billed to health care benefit programs; it’s further alleged that billings to the Medicare and Medicaid programs for the medically-unnecessary drugs exceeded $20 million during the conspiracy..
