A Florida doctor is a few cars and a few dollars short after pleading guilty in a DEA investigation that led to authorities to an opioid pill mill.
Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, Naples, has pleaded guilty to three counts of dispensing controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose.
He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count.
According to court documents, Abraham was a licensed medical doctor practicing in Naples, Florida. In October 2019, the DEA began an investigation after receiving a tip that Abraham was illegally prescribing strong opioids to patients who had no need for the medication.
Over the course of the next year, the DEA conducted 18 undercover patient visits to Abraham’s office, each time receiving prescriptions for oxycodone.
Abraham ignored signs of drug abuse the undercover patients pretended to have and prescribed them oxycodone without ever examining them.
Additionally, Abraham repeatedly increased the strength of the prescriptions simply because the patient asked him for more. In one instance, he prescribed an undercover patient oxycodone after telling him the medical paperwork “shows you are completely normal.”
The investigation also revealed that Abraham frequently prescribed Adderall to patients for no legitimate reason. Adderall is the brand name of a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and contains amphetamine, a frequently abused controlled substance.
On multiple occasions, law enforcement observed Abraham prescribe Adderall simply upon a patient’s request, without asking any questions or engaging in any examination justifying the prescription.
Abraham’s clinic operated on a cash only basis, with patients paying $400 per visit. Investigators traced the proceeds of Abraham’s criminal activities to multiple high-end vehicles he purchased and hundreds of thousands of dollars he held, all of which they seized.
In connection with his plea agreement, Abraham has agreed to forfeit the following to the United States: a 2020 Acura NSX, a 2020 Porsche GT4, a 2021 Toyota Supra, a 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2020 Aston Martin, a 2020 Nissan 370Z, a 2020 Chevrolet Camaro, two 2020 Ford Mustangs, $190,496.56 paid towards a 2021 Aston Martin, and $249,598.52 in cash.
This case was investigated by the DEA Miami Tactical Diversion Squad and the United States Secret Service, with assistance from the Naples Police Department and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.
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