Doctor sentenced to prison for unlawfully distributing painkillers

A Las Vegas physician was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison Monday for unlawfully distributing prescription painkillers at his clinic.

Mahesh Kuthuru, 47, was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and do 50 hours of community service after prison.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey ordered the sentence to run concurrently with an 18-month prison term Kuthuru received in May for health care fraud and unlawful distribution of prescription drugs out of clinics he owned in New York.

Kuthuru, who is serving time at a federal prison camp near Bakersfield, Calif., pleaded guilty in Las Vegas to one drug distribution count in October. He admitted that he wrote illegal prescriptions for the painkillers, including oxycodone, to undercover officers at his Desert Pain Management clinic.

In a plea agreement worked out between Assistant U.S. Attorney Crane Pomerantz and defense lawyer Chris Rasmussen, Kuthuru admitted that he handed out the painkiller prescriptions to the officers "without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice."

On nine occasions between July and November 2012, Kuthuru gave the officers prescriptions with little or no examination, according to the agreement.

"If you illegally and unlawfully use your medical license to divert pharmaceuticals you will be prosecuted, convicted, and sent to prison," Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said after the sentencing. "We continue to make the investigation and prosecution of medical professionals who are involved in illegal drug dealing a top priority in our office."

Kuthuru is one six doctors charged in an ongoing federal crackdown in Las Vegas of prescription drug abuse, according to Bogden. More doctors are under investigation.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ