Indiana doctor sentenced to probation in 'pill mill' case

PERU, Ind. (AP) - An Indiana doctor accused of operating a "pill mill" has been sentenced to more than 10 years of probation but no time behind bars under a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The Kokomo Tribune reports 70-year-old Dr. Tristan Stonger appeared Thursday in Miami County Circuit Court, where Judge Tim Spahr accepted Stonger's guilty plea to five charges including issuing an invalid prescription and insurance fraud. In exchange, 50 other charges are dropped.

Stonger apologized, saying he's "very remorseful."

Investigators say Stonger saw as many as 100 patients in a single day and traded pain pills for work on his farm. The charges followed a three-year investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency, which spent months surveilling his Pain Management Centers of Indiana office in Peru.

He also operated Bloomington and Indianapolis offices.

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com