色多多

Duane Dixon, 66, was part of what was referred to as a 鈥渄en of thieves鈥� at L5 Medical Holdings, a now-defunct company that operated five Pain Care Centers, including ones in Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

鈥淲as he the leader of that den of thieves? No,鈥� U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon said in imposing less than the five and a half years that prosecutors said Dixon deserved. 鈥淏ut he played an integral role.鈥�

As a pain management specialist, Dixon supervised a staff that included another doctor, a nurse practitioner and a counselor 鈥� all of whom were earlier incarcerated for their roles in a health care fraud that allegedly cheated government insurance programs out of nearly $4 million.

Still to be sentenced in 色多多鈥檚 federal court are the company鈥檚 past owner, John Gregory Barnes, and its former chief operating officer, Jennifer Adams.

Dixon took advantage of a 鈥渧ulnerable population鈥� of patients, Dillon said in pronouncing his sentence at the end of a hearing that lasted all day Monday and into Tuesday. The clinics treated those in chronic pain and those struggling with dependance on the medications they turned to for relief.

鈥淒uane Dixon prioritized profit over patient care,鈥� Acting U.S. Attorney Zachary Lee said in a statement. 鈥淥ur nation is fighting an opioid epidemic on a scale we have never seen and doctors like this, who take advantage of the addictions of others for their own greed, must be held accountable.鈥�

In October 2023, Dixon pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute opioid painkillers and Suboxone, which is used to treat addiction to those narcotics, without a legitimate medical purpose. He also admitted to allowing unauthorized staffers to dispense Suboxone using a Drug Enforcement Administration registration number assigned only to physicians.

And he pleaded guilty to failing to report to law enforcement a pattern of health care fraud at L5 clinics in Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Lynchburg, Madison Heights and Woodlawn.

In addition to illegal prescriptions dispensed by Dixon and other staffers, the clinic engaged in a variety of schemes to generate high revenues from 2014 to 2019, according to court records and testimony.

Among them: conducting as many urine drug screens as a patient鈥檚 insurance would pay for, regardless of need; charging at a higher rate for care that was not provided by doctors; false billing to Medicare and Medicaid; and ordering unnecessary genetic tests simply because they were paid for by a patient鈥檚 insurance.

Dixon 鈥渒new that things were not on the up and up at L5,鈥� Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Scheff told Dillon in asking her to impose a 66-month sentence. 鈥淭oo often he looked the other way rather than using his supervisory role to try to improve things.鈥�

However, Dixon testified that he spoke out about some of the practices and even informed the Virginia State Police and the Board of Medicine about what he had seen and done. But he admitted that he should have left L5 sooner than he did in 2019.

If he had, 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be sitting here today,鈥� he said from the witness stand.

Although he acknowledged that he needed a steady paycheck to deal with financial strains, Dixon 鈥� unlike other defendants 鈥� was not primarily motivated by greed, according to his attorney, John Fishwick of 色多多.

鈥淗e was hustling,鈥� Fishwick said of Dixon鈥檚 hard work at the clinics. 鈥淗e was trying to give the best medical care to everyone. He wasn鈥檛 hustling to buy a yacht or live high on the hog.鈥�

And when he did question his superiors on some matters, such as the unnecessary drug screens, Dixon said Barnes made it clear who was in charge. 鈥淗e would say: 鈥榯hese are my employees,鈥� Dixon testified. 鈥淭hey do what I tell them to do, not what you tell them to do.鈥�

Barnes, who faces up to five years in prison, had no prior medical experience when he bought the clinics.

After working in the mortgage industry during the economic crash of the late 2000s, he decided to go into a 鈥渞ecession proof鈥� line of work and selected health care, court records state.

As part of Dixon鈥檚 plea agreement, Dillon dismissed three other charges, one of which accused him of unlawfully distributing fentanyl and oxycodone to an unnamed female patient, who died of an overdose one day after receiving a prescription in May 2015.

Two months earlier, the woman passed out in the waiting room of the Lynchburg clinic. She was hospitalized for what was determined to be an overdose. Although prosecutors argued the incident was relevant conduct that should be considered at sentencing, Dillon ruled that they had failed to show that Dixon鈥檚 prescriptions in that case were not for a legitimate medical purpose.

On one occasion, Dixon pre-signed blank prescriptions to be distributed at the Christiansburg clinic. Staff who were not authorized to dispense medications 鈥減assed out over 50 prescriptions in a three-day period for powerful, addictive and potentially deadly drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine,鈥� according to court documents.

Dixon surrendered his medical license and agreed never to practice again, which Fishwick described as a severe penalty for a career doctor whose self-identity was based largely on his work.

鈥淗e is no longer Dr. Dixon,鈥� Fishwick said. 鈥淗e is Mr. Dixon.鈥�

After his guilty plea, Dixon continued to work at jobs that included a retail cashier and a municipal bus driver in Massachusetts, where he was living before his bond was revoked at the end of Tuesday鈥檚 hearing.

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Dixon handed his wallet, jewelry and other valuables to his son before he was led from the courtroom to a holding cell.

From the witness stand Monday and in a statement to Dillon Tuesday, the defendant apologized for what he had done to undermine a lifetime reputation as a hard-working and ethical physician.

鈥淚 failed the community. I failed my patients. I failed my family,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I failed myself.鈥�