Source: US FBI
DETROIT – An indictment was unsealed today charging two doctors, the owner and operator of a medical clinic, and a patient recruiter with conspiring to illegally distribute prescription drugs, U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr., announced today.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Reuben Coleman, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division, and Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
Charged in the indictment are:
Dr. Shakeeb Chinoy, 55, of Bloomfield Hills;
Dr. Sunil Manjila-Varghese, 53, of Ann Arbor;
Rommel Harvey, 43, of Detroit; and
Gregory Sparks, 42, of Detroit.
The indictment alleges that from November 2023 through June 2025, Dr. Chinoy conspired with Dr. Manjila, Harvey, Sparks, and others to issue thousands of opioid prescriptions for supposed “patients” who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs. The defendants’ conspiracy resulted in the illegal distribution of Oxycodone, Oxycodone-Acetaminophen (Percocet), Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen (Norco), Oxymorphone, and Promethazine with Codeine, which are among the most addictive and abused opioids that also have a high street value. The indictment further alleges that, Dr. Chinoy and Dr. Manjila issued prescriptions for more than 400,000 dosage units of Schedule II opioids with a conservative street value of more than $7 million. Medicare and Medicaid programs were also fraudulently billed for over $1 million in medically unnecessary prescription drug medications and maintenance medications during this conspiracy.
“Doctors take an oath to do no harm and to care for others. These doctors and professionals broke that oath to fill their pockets and used their respected positions of trust to push addictive opiods. They are drug dealers in white coats,” Gorgon said.
“Today’s indictment of four individuals for their alleged roles in conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription drugs reflects the FBI’s unyielding efforts to investigate and disrupt those who violate federal law,” said Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Exploiting the well-being of our community and the healthcare system for personal gain will not be tolerated. The alleged actions betray public trust and divert critical resources. I also want to thank the members from our FBI Detroit Field Office and federal partners at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General for their continued work to uncover and dismantle these illegal schemes.”
“Physicians who exploit their position of trust by overprescribing dangerous opioids for profit place lives at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Working together with our law enforcement partners, our agency will not hesitate to investigate and bring to justice those who choose greed over legitimate patient care.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew J. Lievense and Darrin Crawford. The Eastern District of Michigan is one of the twelve districts included in the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit, a Department of Justice initiative that uses data to target and prosecute individuals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis.
The case was investigated by special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.