A federal grand jury in Colorado has indicted a Denver dentist and two of his friends on charges of conspiracy and obtaining controlled substances by fraud, the U.S. attorney's office announced.
According to the indictment, David Hoag, D.D.S., of Boulder (his practice is in Denver), James Poe of Englewood, and Paul Nickless of Centennial are charged with one count of knowingly conspiring with each other and others to obtain oxycodone, hydrocodone, lorazepam, and zolpidem by misrepresentations, fraud, and deception between April 2004 and February 2009.
In addition to the conspiracy charge, Dr. Hoag and Poe are charged with 131 counts of knowingly obtaining controlled substances by fraud and deceit. Dr. Hoag and Nickless are charged with 283 counts of knowingly obtaining controlled substances by fraud and deceit. Each count represents a prescription written by Dr. Hoag and filled by Poe or Nickless. As part of their agreement, Poe and Nickless filled the prescriptions, then they brought half of them back to Dr. Hoag for his personal use.
Each count of this indictment carries a penalty of not more than four years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine. Dr. Hoag faces 416 counts, Poe faces 132 counts, and Nickless faces 284 counts.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proved guilty, the district attorney's office noted.
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