Southfield man sentenced to prison for distributing 90K+ doses of Oxycontin, Percocet, other opioids
OxyContin 80 mg pills are shot in the studio on August 1, 2013. (Photo by Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Southfield man received prison time for helping illegally distribute more than 90,000 doses of Oxycontin, Percocet, and other opioids.
Authorities said 45-year-old Lavar Carter got involved with the scheme as a patient recruiter where he used family members and people he encountered at soup kitchens to obtain information that was used to fill medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions.
He eventually became employed at New Vision Rehab Center where he provided physicians with lists of patient names and identification to fill medically unnecessary prescriptions. Carter and others exchanged the prescriptions for cash.
Carter participated in this scheme from May 2019 until June 2020.
Authorities said that while he was out on bond, Carter was surveilled by law enforcement agents working at another pain clinic to help distribute more drugs.
Carter was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison.
"The devastation created by the opioid crisis harms our entire country. My office will zealously pursue medical providers, clinic staff, and others who inflict harm upon our community through illicit distribution of these powerful drugs," U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said.