Oakland County Doctor Sentenced For Illegal Opioid Distribution

SOUTHFIELD, MI — An Oakland County doctors has been convicted for her role in a $20 million conspiracy to illegally prescribe opioid pills, according to federal officials.

Charise Valentine, 69, of Southfield, was sentenced to six years in prison for charges of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute prescription opioids and 10 counts of illegal distribution of oxycodone and oxymorphone. She faced up to 20 years in prison.

Officials said Valentine was one of two doctors who issued a large amount of prescription opioids to fake patients who did not have a legitimate medical need between November 2016 to July 2018.

Valentine, operating out of Orthopedic Medical Building, issued more than 3,000 prescriptions for more than 200,000 pills to supposed "patients," officials said.

Officials said the Oak Park clinic was fake and that most patients were brought by "patient recruiters/marketers." They said the "sham clinic" was cash-only and charged patients $200-500 per prescription, but did not charge anything if the patient didn’t receive an opioid prescription. In addition, the prices were not based on the service provided but on the quantity, type, and dosage of prescription opioids, officials said.

The prescription drugs are also among the most highly diverted prescription opioids due to their high street value, officials said.

Officials said Valentine was paid roughly 50 percent of the clinic’s proceeds – more than $500,000 in cash over about 19 months. They said she was only paid if she wrote an opioid prescription to a patient, not based on any supposed "medical care." She received an envelope of thousands in cash each day she worked, officials said.

Her co-defendant, Michele Ritter, was also involved in illegally issuing thousands of opioid prescriptions.

"Doctors take an oath to heal, not poison," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome Gorgon said. "As a doctor, this defendant knew better than anyone the devastating harm that opioid addiction causes to people. There is no place in our community for corrupt doctors."