The Carrollton doctor who allegedly overprescribed steroids and other drugs to professional wrestler Chris Benoit and others pleaded not guilty Monday morning at a brief arraignment hearing in U.S. District Court.

Dr. Phil Astin III, who waived his right to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Clayton Scofield, is facing 175 federal counts of illegal prescription abuse, including 168 handed down in a superseding indictment May 29.

A jury trial has tentatively been scheduled for August, but the newest charges appear to make a later date more likely.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn sounded confident in the government's case.

"The indictment speaks for itself," he said in an interview.

Natasha Perdew Silas, Astin's federally appointed defender, declined to say if a possible plea was in the works to avoid a trial and a potential life sentence for her client.

"Obviously, it's still early in the case," she said.

Astin, 52, has been under house arrest since being indicted on seven counts in July, but was given permission earlier this year to work on weekdays to help meet his financial obligations.

The most recent charges accuse him of "knowingly and intentionally" distributing 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 latest indictment also alleges the drugs Astin prescribed resulted in the death of a patient.

Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son before hanging himself at the family's Fayetteville home nearly a year ago.

Astin has admitted prescribing testosterone to Benoit. Federal authorities allege he prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007.

The indictments released last month 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.

Astin's attorney issued a statement, saying all isn't necessarily what it seemed.

"The government's superseding indictment picks out a handful of those patients and tries to create the impression that Dr. Astin is a criminal," Perdew Silas said. "He is not a criminal. He is a doctor who cared for his patients with compassion and with good faith."

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