(SPRINGFIELD, Ohio) – Attorney General Mike DeWine announced that Dr. Han M. Yang pleaded guilty today to Trafficking in Prescription Drugs, among other charges. Search warrants were executed last October on Yang's offices in Dayton and Bethel Township as part of an investigation into prescription drug abuse, medical fraud, and money laundering.
"We are committed to driving pill mills, and their trail of suffering and death, out of Ohio," said Attorney General DeWine. "More work remains, but rest assured we will continue the fight."
Yang, 69, pleaded guilty in Clark County Common Pleas Court before Judge Richard O'Neill to eight counts that included six counts of Trafficking in Prescription Drugs, five a felony of the fourth degree, one a felony of the fifth degree; a count of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, a felony of the second degree; and a count of Theft by Deception (related to health care fraud), a felony of the fourth degree.
The plea also included Yang's forfeiture of $100,000 in funds from trafficking in prescription drugs.
The case, which included the Attorney General's Office, Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer, Clark County Prosecutor Andrew Wilson, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, R.A.N.G.E. (Regional Agencies Narcotics & Gun Enforcement Task Force), the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and the state Pharmacy and Medical boards, began after a local pharmacist had alerted authorities to inappropriate prescribing practices.
Sentencing will be announced at a later date, but Yang faces penalties that could include up to 18 years in prison and fines of up to $77,500.
This is the latest step in the efforts of Attorney General DeWine and other law enforcement to end prescription drug abuse in Ohio. In December, Attorney General DeWine, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, and Scioto County officials shut down the last known pill mill in Scioto County, Greater Medical Advance, when law enforcement agents served search warrants at the Wheelersburg clinic, the clinic doctor's residence, and the clinic owner's residence.
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