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Dr. John Katsetos waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty Friday in Hartford federal court to offenses stemming from his illegal dispensation of oxycodone and other controlled substances outside of the scope of accepted medical practice.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Katsetos practiced medicine for more than 20 years, most recently out of offices located at 90 Morgan St. in Stamford and 353 Bridgeport Ave. in Milford. Katsetos admitted that he failed to perform rudimentary examinations of patients to justify the controlled substances he prescribed, and that he had been warned by a doctor and several pharmacists, some of whom stopped filling his prescriptions, that he should stop prescribing oxycodone and other narcotic pain medications to certain patients who showed obvious signs of addiction.
The investigation showed that Katsetos ignored the warnings and continued to prescribe controlled substances, including oxycodone, to patients outside of the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.
Katsetos also acknowledged that he saw multiple patients at once and billed Medicare and Medicaid for individual visits for each of those patients.
“We are committed to uncovering and prosecuting those involved in narcotics distribution regardless of their station in life, and especially anyone who uses their medical license to flood the community with controlled substances that feed addictions and have a corrosive effect on our communities,” said Daly.
Katsetos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute narcotics, and health care fraud.
When sentenced by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant, he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1.25 million. If the terms of the plea agreement are accepted, Katsetos faces 48 months to 84 months in prison, $497,789 in restitution and forfeiture of $550,000, which represents the value of his medical practice.
He was arrested July 1, 2014, and is free on $1 million bond.
A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
“The DEA New England Field Division is committed to investigating those individuals who engage in the illicit distribution of prescription pain killers," said Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England.
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