Opioid Pushing Pharmacist Owner From Montco Gets Federal Prison Time

PHILADELPHIA — A longtime pharmacy owner whose Northeast Philly business reportedly once ordered more OxyContin than any other drug store in the United States will be heading to federal prison after a judge in Philadelphia sentenced him in connection with a case in which prosecutors say he conspired to distribute controlled substances and committed healthcare fraud.

Mitchell Spivack, 63, of Collegeville, Montgomery County, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle, III, to three-and-a-half years in federal prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $451,328.

The ending to the criminal case against Spivack comes two months after the federal government filed a civil case against the man to resolve allegations that were similar to the criminal charges.

In order to resolve the civil case, Spivack has agreed to pay more than $4.1 million to settle claims under the Controlled Substances Act, False Claims Act and forfeiture, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

As a result of the judgement against him, Spivack and his pharmacy will never again be allowed to dispense controlled substances.

"Pharmacies and pharmacists engage in the deepest violation of the community's trust when they exploit their access to opioids and other controlled substances and illegally dispense the drugs for their own financial gain," U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in a statement. "It is even more disturbing when pharmacists take advantage of their position of trust by fraudulently billing Medicare and other federal health care programs. Our Office will use every resource it has to pursue and hold these individuals accountable, including criminal charges and civil penalties, as was the case here."

Spivack, who for more than 30 years owned and operated the Veree Pharmacy in Philadelphia's Fox Chase neighborhood, earned a reputation as a "no questions asked" pharmacy for oxycodone and other dangerous and addictive opioid drugs, according to federal prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said by 2016, Spivack's business was the largest purchaser of oxycodone among all retail pharmacies across the commonwealth.

In its own analysis, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that at one point in time Veree Pharmacy had ordered more OxyContin than any other pharmacy in the nation.

"In furtherance of the conspiracy, Spivack and his coconspirators filled prescriptions for wholesale quantities of high-dose oxycodone despite obvious alterations to the prescriptions and other red flags indicating that the drugs were not for a legitimate medical purpose," the U.S. Attorney's Office stated in a news release.

Prosecutors said Spivack and his employees would often submit entirely fraudulent claims to healthcare benefit programs for prescription drugs that were never dispensed.

Between 2013 and 2019, the federal Medicare program and other insurers paid out more than $450,000 for the bogus claims, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Mitchell Spivack filled prescriptions outside of medical standards for the highly addictive drug oxycodone, adding fuel to the fire of a crisis that kills 14 Pennsylvanians every day," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. "Pharmacies and medical professionals have a responsibility under the law to dispense these drugs only when appropriate. Nothing will bring back the lives we've lost to this epidemic, but today's sentence holds Spivack, and Veree pharmacy, accountable for their actions."

The federal government filed a criminal information against Spivack in late May.

A criminal information differs slightly from an indictment in that it typically signals a defendant intends to plead guilty to the government's allegations.

Court records show that Spivack pleaded guilty in federal court in June, just a month after the criminal information was filed.

The docket sheet in the case shows that the judge ordered Spivack to report to prison late next month to begin serving out his sentence.

In addition to the federal prison sentence and the financial restitution, the judge also ordered Spivack to forfeit $116,000, which Bartle said represents the amount of money "derived, directly or indirectly, from gross proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense charged in Count One" of the criminal information.