A Coweta County dentist will spend a year and a month in federal prison following his conviction on drug distribution charges.
Hugh Nelson Maddux, 62, of Newnan, wrote hundreds of prescriptions for controlled substances to his patients, including many who became addicted to the drugs, according to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. Maddux wrote prescriptions for patients without examinations, and left prescriptions taped to the back door of his practice.
“In a small dental practice where the defendant had known many of his patients for years, things quickly spiraled out of control as the number of prescriptions and addicted patients grew,” Yates said in an emailed statement. “This dentist, whether he was motivated by greed or was simply blind to the consequences, completely abandoned his responsibility as a health care provider, dispensing controlled substances to his patients without any regard for medical necessity.”
The allegations against Maddux surfaced after he sold his Newnan office, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. An anonymous complaint in 2011 launched the investigation, which revealed an unusually high number of prescriptions issued by Maddux.
One patient, whose name was not released, admitted to investigators she was addicted to opiate pain pills prescribed by Maddux, though she hadn’t been examined in at least eight months, according to court documents in the case. Between October 2009 and October 2011, Maddux issued hundreds of prescriptions for Schedule II narcotics, the U.S. Attorney said.
When interviewed in March, Maddux admitting writing the prescriptions, though they were not medically necessary, Yates said. He pleaded guilty and was convicted on drug charges in August.
Maddux’s prison time will be followed by three years of probation, an $8,000 fine and 250 hours of community service.
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