Illinois doctor convicted of illegally dispensing drugs

BENTON, Ill. (AP) - A southern Illinois doctor faces up to 140 years in federal prison after being convicted of charges that he illegally distributed controlled substances.

A jury in Benton found 60-year-old Naeem Kohli of Effingham guilty Tuesday of seven counts of illegal dispensing of controlled substances. His trial had lasted 17 days.

Kohli was charged in March of last year with health care fraud and illegally dispensing drugs such as methadone, oxycodone and hydromorphone over a four-year period until May 2013.

He was licensed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe those drugs but was accused of illegally dispensing them to patients.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation suspended his license last July.

His sentencing is scheduled for May 20.