Michael Millette, 46, of Crystal Lake, Ill., pleaded guilty on July 14, 2006, to conspiring to dispense Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of medical practice. Millette also pleaded guilty to laundering proceeds of his illegal distributions.
During his plea hearing, Millette admitted he prescribed more than 62 million Schedule III and Schedule IV dosage units illegally over the Internet. Millette also admitted he laundered the money he received from the Internet companies that employed him. Millette agreed to forfeit $1.6 million in proceeds he earned working for various Internet companies.
Millette also entered guilty pleas to charges from the Middle District of Florida, where he was charged with a separate drug conspiracy related to the Internet distribution of Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substances. The Florida charges were transferred to the Northern District of Iowa for a consolidated sentencing.
It is illegal for a doctor to prescribe controlled substances unless the prescription is based on a legitimate doctor/patient relationship, said the DOJ. Many Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substances -- such as Vicodin, Tylenol with Codeine, Xanax and Valium -- are addictive and dangerous if abused. Because of these dangers, and the potential for death and serious injury if use of the drugs is not monitored in the confines of a legitimate medical relationship, cracking down on Internet pharmacies and doctors who write prescriptions over the Internet is a DOJ.
Millette is the ninth doctor to be sentenced in the Northern District of Iowa's Internet pharmacy investigation.
