Eugene Evans, Jr., MD

Conspiracy Charge is Non-defendable

A June, 2015 news article stated: “Eugene Evans, a northern New Jersey doctor was sentenced to five years in state prison for conspiring with a drug dealer and others to illegally distribute thousands of painkillers.” Evans was charged by complaint-warrant with second-degree conspiracy, second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, and third-degree obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud.

This, in my opinion, shows how low the government will go to convict a doctor to confiscate his assets. It would appear that their investigation of Dr. Evans uncovered no wrongdoing in his medical care, so they threw the charges of “conspiracy” at him. Now conspiracy is a charge for which there is no defense. Probably ten percent of the incarcerated are innocent people put there by a conspiracy charge. Since there is no defense, because the government does not have to render proof of the actual conspiracy, it is a last ditch but easy charge to convict someone of.

Dr. Evans Pleads Guilty

According to the state, Dr. Evans wrote fraudulent prescriptions for over 20,000 oxycodone pills for people he supposedly never treated. With a possible prison sentence of up to 25 years if convicted, Dr. Evans took the only way out of a conspiracy charge and pleaded guilty to distributing a controlled dangerous substance and surrendered his medical license.

The conspiracy supposedly involved David Roth, a 44-year-old Marlboro resident who authorities say supplied Evans with the “purported” patients’ names and birthdays. However, the report continues by saying that Mr. Roth took the “purported patients” to the pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled. So how are the patients then “purported” if they were real people able to be transported to the pharmacy? If there was fraudulent activity involved, where is the proof that the doctor even knew about it?

Illegal Use of the Controlled Substance Act by the DOJ

Then comes the standard Justice Department argument being used against every pain management physician attacked: “There was no legitimate medical purpose for the prescriptions.” This is the catchall phrase that they have pulled from the CSA that was originally intended to specifically exclude doctors from attack.

In order to cover their prosecutorial overreach of the CSA, they make statements like this one by acting Attorney General Hoffman: “When corrupt healthcare professionals cash in on the black market for opiate pain pills by fraudulently prescribing and diverting oxycodone, they are every bit as culpable as the street dealers, gangsters and cartel members who similarly profit from the deadly epidemic of prescription opiate and heroin addiction in New Jersey.”

This type of statement is supposed to cover the fact that doctors are excluded from the CSA unless they are actual street pushers of illegal drugs.

Likewise the statement by Carl J. Kotowski, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division: “Unfortunately, this is another example of a doctor allegedly choosing easy money over the oath he took to help those in need. DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue these violators as vigorously as we pursue all drug traffickers.”

But seeing patients in the office, even fraudulent ones, does not equate to street pushing. The fraudulent patient should be charged, but there’s no money for the government in doing that.

“Evans is the first doctor we are prosecuting through our new Prescription Fraud Investigation Strike Team, which we formed to target these ruthless profiteers within the healthcare industry. We will continue to work closely with the DEA to arrest those who peddle addiction and death.”

So here is the real statement. New Jersey has jumped on the bandwagon of attacking doctors for the money gleaned from confiscating their assets. We can expect more such prosecutions from that state now. Further proof of government targeting of physicians for their assets is the fact that Deputy Attorney General Anthony P. Torntore, the lead prosecutor on the case is a member of the Specialized Crimes Bureau assigned to the Attorney General’s Prescription Fraud Investigation Strike Team, a newly formed team of detectives and attorneys in the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau that targets corrupt healthcare professionals and “pill mills.” Complete positions have now been created in U. S. Attorneys’ offices to target physicians. I was a target of such a designated team.

“Evans allegedly wrote false prescriptions for more than 20,000 high-dose oxycodone pills, worth $20 or more apiece on the street,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice. “That represents more than $400,000 in potential illicit revenue. Such profits are what lure unscrupulous doctors into this dark trade.”

This kind of reporting is what creates anti-doctor sentiments in the community, making them sound like drug dealers when there is no proof, only innuendo. It sounds like the doctor received a kickback on the sales of the pills on the street. I bet he didn’t even know that was happening, if it even was happening. These “patients” could have been legitimate pain patients.

“Evans wrote multiple prescriptions at a time for each of the purported patients.”

This practice actually shows that Dr. Evans was a good doctor, as opposed to hospital-owned clinics that make the patient come in every month for a prescription that can be written for three months but must be written only one month at a time. This is the necessary procedure for oxycodone and any schedule II opioid. It is completely legitimate for the doctor to write up to three prescriptions, for a total of 90 days. The date has to be the date the prescription was written, but the directions state “Do not fill before…” Writing three prescriptions for a patient on a single visit shows compassion for the patient, not making them come in every month for a prescription that can be legally written for three months.

Roth paid Evans for writing the prescriptions, authorities said, and he also paid the individuals he recruited as purported patients, either in cash, prescription narcotics, or both. Roth would then illegally distribute the pills, typically selling each 30 milligram oxycodone tablet for $20 or $30.

So it sounds like Roth possibly had an illegal activity going on, if the “purported” patients really did not have a pain issue. But there is no proof that the doctor knew anything about what was going on outside his office.   Even though the charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, this is not the reality. Because of news articles like the ones gleaned to write this post, enough negative propaganda is presented to incriminate anyone. In reality, doctors are guilty until proven innocent. And because of the extensive outrageous government conduct of forced perjury of witnesses, it is impossible to get a fair trial. If you read this post and know anyone living in the state of New Jersey, please forward the URL to those friends so we can inform the population of the real government agenda in the expected future attacks on more good physicians in that state.

Addendum from the author:

I have failed in my mission to end these attacks on doctors and pain patients. Through John Bevere’s book The Bait of Satan, I have figured out why—my lack of forgiveness to those who attacked me. As in Mark 11: 24-26:

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

And when you do not do the will of the Father, you are estranged from him and he will ignore you.  So we all must forgive the agents who attacked us in order for things to be made right through any of our works.

Jesus said

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

But we cannot lay down our lives for God unless we know Him well enough to trust Him. We must have the assurance that He would never do anything to harm us. He always looks out for what He knows is in our best interest. As a nation, those of us suffering from these attacks must understand that we are serving as God’s messengers of love.  We must forgive those who persecute us and love them instead, following God’s will for us. Then and only then will we see fruits from our labor.

So I hope that everyone who has suffered from what happened to the doctor can trust the Lord, forgive those who have hurt you, and help bring this country back to the God-fearing country that our forefathers founded. Then, and only then, can you be a part of the effort to stop these attacks. I look forward to that day.