(WWJ) -- Six metro Detroiters, including a doctor, have been charged by the Department of Justice for their roles in an illegal prescription drug ring that racked up a street value of almost $7 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin announced Monday that six people -- including a doctor and the owners of Tranquility Wellness Center in Dearborn -- have been charged with conspiring to distribute prescription drugs.
The defendants, including owner Janiece Burrell, 36, of Macomb Township, allegedly dispensed a large amount of prescription opioids -- including oxycodone and other related opioids -- to patients who didn't actually need them.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says after getting the drugs, those so-called patients would turn around and sell them, bringing in a profit of nearly $6.6 million between March 2020 and June 2021.
Officials say Burrell operated the wellness center with 44-year-old Angelo Smith, also from Macomb Township, while Dr. Lawrence Sherman, 72, from Shelby Township, is accused of prescribing the opioids to patients who didn't need them. The indictment says Sherman allegedly issued more than 441,000 doses of opioids in a little more than a year.
The defendants allegedly only accepted cash and charged their patients based on the quantity and type of drugs they were getting.
The others charged in the case include Peter Burrell, Jr., 52 of West Bloomfield, who is accused of recruiting patients; and two other employees -- Akeyla Bell, 38, of St. Clair Shores, and Carmen Gilbreth, 36, of Detroit.
If convicted, the accused could serve between 5-20 years in federal prison.
"This indictment shows our continued commitment to investigate and charge those who fuel the opioid crisis in this state," Mohsin said in a release. "This case is particularly troubling in that it involves greedy medical professionals who profited from prescribing and dispensing medically unnecessary drugs to individuals without regard to medical necessity."
