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Opioids (Photo: DepositPhotos)
A 72-year-old Macomb County doctor is indicted with five other people in a suspected Metro Detroit opioid ring that illegally dispensed drugs to patients who had no legitimate medical need, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday.
Dr. Lawrence Mark Sherman, 72, of Shelby Township, is accused of issuing more than 441,000 dosage units of Schedule II opioid prescriptions, primarily oxycodone and oxymorphone, with a conservative street value above $6.6 million, federal authorities said. The alleged conspiracy ran from March 2020 until this month.
The doctor and three others, who were arrested, are scheduled to make an initial appearance via Zoom in federal court in Detroit on Monday.
“The diversion of prescription pills into our communities perpetuates the current opioid crisis,” Detroit FBI head Timothy Waters said in a statement. “The FBI and its federal partners will continue to target doctors, pharmacists, and the networks that are fueling the epidemic by holding them accountable for their dangerous criminal behavior.”
Authorities charged that Sherman worked with Janeice Minique Burrell, 36, of Macomb, who owns Tranquility Wellness Center, which had offices in Dearborn and St. Clair Shores. The Dearborn office is now closed.
The clinics mostly took cash from patients and charged by the quantity and dosage of drugs, rather than based on diagnosis and treatment. But more than $85,000 was billed through Medicaid and Medicare.
Thes other four people charged are:
- Angelo Martese Smith, 44, of Macomb (clinic manager)
- Peter Burrell, Jr., 52, of West Bloomfield (patient recruiter)
- Akeyla Bell, 38, of Saint Clair Shores (clinic employee)
- Carmen Gilbreth, 36, of Detroit (clinic employee)
