Mansfield Doctor Indicted on Prescription Drug Charge

Dr. David Walter Massie, a medical doctor who lives in Mansfield, Ohio, was arrested today after being indicted on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute Oxycontin and/or Oxycodone, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Massie, age 59, is scheduled to be arraigned July 6.

He wrote fraudulent prescriptions for Oxycontin and Oxycodone for patients, which the patients then filled and illegally distributed back to Massie for his own personal use, distribution, and sale to others, according to the indictment.

“Prescription drug abuse has wreaked havoc on Ohio and is a major challenge for law enforcement,” Dettelbach said. “To have a doctor involved in a drug conspiracy such as this is profoundly troubling. We will continue to work with our partners in the law enforcement, regulatory, and medical fields to help solve this problem.”

Much of the conduct took place between 2005 and 2007 but includes transactions in May 2012, when Massie sold Oxycontin and/or Oxycodone at the rate of $1 per milligram, according to the indictment. Massie obtained more than 4,000 pills of Oxycontin or Oxycodone through this conspiracy, according to the indictment.

Oxycontin and Oxycodone are both prescription painkillers classified as Schedule II controlled substances.

In some cases, Massie asked patients to provide their insurance information to cover the cost of the prescriptions. In other cases he provided them cash to pay for the pills, according to the indictment. Massie sometimes allowed some patients to keep a few of the pills as payment, according to the indictment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa L. Dirksen following an investigation by the METRICH Enforcement Unit of the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and FBI (Mansfield Resident Office).

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any; his role in the offense; and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.