A former Hillsboro urgent care doctor pled guilty on Friday to improperly prescribing opioids to patients.
Dr. Timothy Manuel, 59, entered his plea in Highland County Common Pleas Court to four counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and one count of workers’ compensation fraud.
The case was prosecuted by attorneys with Attorney General DeWine’s Special Prosecutions Section, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.
Manuel, who now lives in Missouri, was indicted last year after an investigation by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) found that he prescribed large amounts of medically unnecessary oxycodone to numerous patients while working as a doctor at Hillsboro Urgent Care, the AG’s office said. He also billed the Ohio BWC for medical services that were never provided.
In a statement Friday, DeWine said, “Needlessly prescribing prescription drugs is just as bad as selling them on the street… Those in my office are working each day to combat Ohio’s drug epidemic, and we will continue to hold accountable those who have contributed to this epidemic by carelessly and improperly prescribing drugs.”
Manuel will be sentenced on May 24.
The case was investigated with the assistance of the State Medical Board of Ohio, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
In other hearings this week in Highland County Common Pleas Court:
• James Williams IV, 36, Portsmouth, was sentenced to nine months in prison to be served consecutive to a prison sentence he is serving in Clermont County after he pled guilty to receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony.
• Timothy M. Jackson, 32, Greenfield, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony, and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony.
• Ryan Mottie, 30, Hillsboro, was sentenced to three years of community control sanctions and ordered to successfully complete a treatment program after pleading guilty of receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony.
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.
