Physician convicted of improper prescribing gets 4 years

FRANKLIN, Ky. – A Kentucky doctor convicted of illegally prescribing opioids to patients who died of overdoses has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Saturday that 69-year-old Roy D. Reynolds also was ordered last week to pay $25,000 in fines. U.S. Attorney Russell M. Coleman says in a release that Reynolds “became a drug dealer with a medical license.”

A jury convicted Reynolds in April of 15 counts of illegally prescribing controlled substances. His attorneys described him as a family man who was devoted in his medical practice. But prosecutors have said he doled out prescriptions for opioids and anti-anxiety drugs despite red flags about abuse, and several of his patients died of overdoses. Prosecutors said Reynolds prescribed nearly 140,000 oxycodone pills in 2012.

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Information from: Lexington Herald-Leader, http://www.kentucky.com