Oakton doctor David Allingham pleaded guilty to running a “pill mill” scheme out of Oakton Primary Care Center. The physician wrote prescriptions for oxycodone and amphetamines without proper medical assessment. Several of his patients have died of overdoses.
Allingham, 64, is the owner and only medically licensed doctor at OPCC, an urgent care facility. Between April 2019 and January 2024, he wrote prescriptions for opioids and amphetamines for several patients without a legitimate medical purpose and without properly assessing their needs, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Eastern District of Virginia said.
In that time frame, Virginia pharmacies filled 7,330 prescriptions for oxycodone written by Allingham, totaling approximately 405,164 pills.
Allingham’s patients paid out of pocket for appointments — $300 to $550 per patient, and $700 extra for a doctor’s letter. Though patients were supposed to visit at least every 21 days, some of those “office visits” were over the phone.
In-office visits included urine drug tests, but Allingham “consistently excused or ignored failed UDSs (urine drug screenings)” and “failed to act on them in a medically appropriate way.” He continued to prescribe painkillers to patients who failed drug tests, including one patient who failed 40 tests between 2019 and 2023. He either withheld failed tests from patient files or falsified his medical records.
Allingham also directed untrained medical staff at his office to issue prescriptions for controlled substances on at least 487 occasions.
Allingham also prescribed amphetamines for weight loss purposes at least 527 times, regardless of whether the patient was obese.
When pharmacies investigated his prescribing practices and refused to fill prescriptions for controlled substances written by Allingham, he instructed his staff to phase out brand pharmacies in favor of “mom and pop” pharmacies.
Allingham and his employees also used another doctor’s identity without authorization to prescribe medications for himself and his family.
When law enforcement searched Allingham’s home and medical practice in July 2023, he made false statements about his prescribing practices and told an employee to delete their text communications.
Allingham pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and amphetamines, maintaining drug premises, and false statements relating to health care matters. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
