NW Ind. doctors gets 5 years for painkiller scheme

HAMMOND, Ind. — A northwestern Indiana physician has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that he oversaw a scheme that put more than half a million prescription painkillers on the street.

The Times of Munster reports 51-year-old Adolf Yaniz of Hobart was sentenced Wednesday for writing unnecessary prescriptions for hydrocodone. Prosecutors said Yaniz allowed his staff to use his Drug Enforcement Administration registration to order more than 500,000 of the prescription pills that were then sold on the street.

Yaniz pleaded guilty to two of 13 counts against him in exchange for prosecutors dropping the remaining 11 counts. He also agreed to a lifetime debarment from any federally funded health benefits program and can no longer prescribe controlled drugs.