The doctor who authorities say overprescribed steroids and other drugs to wrestler Chris Benoit was indicted Thursday on 175 federal counts of illegal prescription abuse.

The indictment against Dr. Phil Astin III adds 168 counts relating to 17 patients to a July indictment charging him with seven counts of overprescribing to two people other than Benoit.

Astin is alleged to have "knowingly and intentionally" distributed illegal prescriptions for the painkillers Percocet, Oxycontin, Demerol, Lorcet and Vicodin, the amphetamines Ritalin and Adderall, the tranquilizer Xanax and the muscle relaxer Soma. The indictment also alleges the drugs Astin prescribed resulted in the death of a patient.

Benoit killed his wife and young son at their Fayetteville home last summer before hanging himself.

"I've been expecting this for some time now," Astin said when reached by phone at his home, "so it's really not that surprising."

Natasha Perdew-Silas, his federally appointed defender, said she remained committed to defending her client.

"It's not unexpected," she said.

"Until he was charged in this case, Dr. Astin was a compassionate country doctor who provided low-cost —- and sometimes free —- medical care to thousands of people in and around the Carrollton community. There has not been any proof in court of any wrongdoing against Dr. Astin whatsoever."

Astin, 52, has admitted prescribing testosterone to Benoit.

The doctor has been under house arrest since his initial indictment. U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T. Walker ruled in January that he could be exempted on weekdays from his house arrest so he could work at the nearby Strickland's Towing Service and meet financial obligations to his terminally ill wife and two young children. Perdew-Silas said she had no reason to expect that status to change.

Federal authorities previously said Astin prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007.

The indictment released Thursday only identifies the 17 patients by their initials. Two of the patients are identified as C.M.B. and N.E.B. Benoit's name was Christopher Michael Benoit, and his wife was Nancy Elizabeth Benoit.

The indictment says Astin wrote 21 prescriptions to C.M.B. for 100 to 150 tablets each for Lorcet, Soma and Xanax from December 2004 until June 22, 2007. Authorities say Benoit killed his wife on June 22, his son on June 23 and himself on June 24.

Fifteen of the prescriptions authorized three refills.

N.E.B. received 18 prescriptions from June 2005 until May 30, 2007, about three weeks before Nancy Benoit's death. All the prescriptions except one were for Lorcet. The remaining one was for Xanax.

The indictment also alleges that Astin wrote and filled 16 prescriptions for Lortab, Xanax, Dexedrine, Adderall and Ritalin in the names of two patients without their knowledge.

Under federal law, each alleged illegal prescription is charged as a separate count.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Fayette County Sheriff's Department's Drug Suppression Task Force worked in conjunction with the West Georgia Drug Task Force and the Carroll County Sheriff's Department in making the case.

Federal law requires medical practitioners to sign and date each prescription for controlled substances on the dates they are issued.

David Nahmias, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said the case has given authorities a "much broader picture of the disturbing and dangerous distribution of prescription drugs."

Astin, who was forced to surrender his medical license in July, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in October that he had already spent $50,000 toward his legal defense. He was soon declared financially indigent by the court and had a federal defender appointed for him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn said in January that Astin's association with Benoit went considerably beyond the steroids he provided to the wrestler.

Horn alleged that Chris and Nancy Benoit abused painkilling drugs prescribed by Astin.

More than 100 wrestlers under the age of 50 have died from various causes, including drug and steroid abuse, in the past 10 years, according to a list compiled by various publications.

Most recently, former World Championship Wrestling performer Chase Tatum, 34, was found dead in his Buckhead home of a drug overdose in March. He is not known to have been a patient of Astin's.

THE STORY SO FAR

> Late June 2007: Professional wrestler Chris Benoit kills his wife and 7-year-old son before taking his own life in their Fayetteville home.

> July 2007: Carrollton doctor Phil Astin III is indicted on seven counts of overprescribing to patients other than Benoit. Astin is forced to surrender his medical license and is placed under house arrest.

> January 2008: A U.S. magistrate judge says Astin may work to meet his financial obligations.

> May 29, 2008: A federal grand jury indicts Astin on 168 additional counts of illegal drug distribution. Drugs he allegedly prescribed caused the death of one patient.

> Next: Astin to appear in U.S. District Court.