A federal jury convicted Dr. Charise Valentine, 69, of Southfield, of conspiracy to distribute prescription opioids, including Oxycodone and Oxymorphone, unlawfully.
Valentine was convicted on Friday (April 25) for her role as one of two primary doctors at the Orthopedic Medical Building, where she issued illegal opioid prescriptions.
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From November 2016 to July 2018, Valentine issued more than 3,000 prescriptions for over 200,000 pills to supposed “patients” who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs.
Those “patients” were typically brought to the clinic by “patient recruiters/marketers.”
Orthopedic Medical Building, a sham clinic that operated out of a warehouse in Oak Park, Michigan, accepted only cash and charged patients between $200 and $500 per prescription.
However, no fees were charged if the patient did not receive an opioid prescription.
The prices were not based on the services provided but rather on the quantity, type, and dosage of prescription opioids received, usually Oxycodone 30 mg or Oxymorphone 40 mg—two of the most addictive prescription opioids.
Those drugs were also among the most highly diverted due to their high street value.
The clinic also charged cash for creating fraudulent medical records for the supposed “patients.”
Valentine was paid about 50% of the clinic’s proceeds—more than $500,000 in cash over approximately 19 months—and was compensated only if she wrote an opioid prescription, not based on any supposed “medical care.”
She received an envelope containing thousands of dollars in cash each day she worked.
The other defendants charged in the case, including clinic operator Iris Winchester, Dr. Michele Ritter, clinic employee Kristina Brown, and Joyce Robinson, previously pleaded guilty.
