Raleigh County Physician Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Crimes in Connection with HOPE Clinic

Defendant Prescribed Opioids to Two Customers Who Died of Overdoses

BECKLEY, W.Va. – Sanjay Mehta, D.O., 57, of Shady Spring, pleaded guilty on Thursday, July 10, 2025, to three counts of aiding and abetting obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Mehta admitted to unlawful prescription practices at HOPE (Hitech Opioid Pharmachovigilance Expertise) Clinic, a purported pain management clinic that operated in Beckley, Beaver and Charleston, West Virginia, and Wytheville, Virginia.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Mehta worked at the Beckley HOPE Clinic from November 2012 through July 2013 and the Beaver HOPE Clinic from August 2013 through May 2015. Mehta had little to no experience in dealing with chronic pain patients and no training in prescribing Schedule II narcotics for the treatment of chronic pain when he was recruited to work at HOPE Clinic.

As part of his guilty pleas, Mehta admitted to writing prescriptions for three different HOPE Clinic customers with no legitimate medical purpose, including prescriptions for oxycodone, methadone, and Roxicodone, a brand name for oxycodone hydrochloride. Two of the three customers died of opioid intoxication within days of receiving their unlawful prescriptions.

Mehta is scheduled to be sentenced on October 31, 2025 and faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $750,000 fine. Mehta also agreed to surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration Certificate of Registration, not oppose the revocation of his registration to dispense controlled substances, and not apply for re-registration.

Mehta was initially indicted in 2018 along with others associated with HOPE Clinic and Patients, Physicians and Pharmacists Fighting Diversion (PPPFD), which managed HOPE Clinic’s daily operations. The indictment alleges that from November 2010 to June 2015, the defendants conspired to distribute oxycodone and other Schedule II controlled substances, not for legitimate medical purposes and outside the usual course of professional practice. 

Mehta and six other physicians pleaded guilty to separate charges in lieu of the indictment. PPPFD owner-operator Mark T. Radcliffe, 68, of Shady Spring, and co-defendant Michael T. Moran, M.D., 60, of Covington, Virginia, are scheduled for trial on October 6, 2025. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

“It is readily evident that the Southern District of West Virginia has been severely impacted by the opioid crisis. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to bringing to justice those whose criminal conduct contributes to this crisis and worsens its most tragic consequences,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “This commitment stems from the recognition that such actions harm patients and undermine efforts to combat the epidemic.”

Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the West Virginia State Police, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the Beckley Police Department, the Kentucky State Police, the Harrison County, Kentucky, Sheriff’s Department, and the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (AHIDTA).

“Medical professionals who cause the distribution of controlled substances not for legitimate medical purposes and not within the usual course of professional medical practice can cause significant harm to the those who purchase them,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronald Dawkins, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “This case demonstrates that we will hold accountable individuals who would compromise patient safety for personal gain by causing the unlawful distribution of Schedule II prescription medications.”

United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Brian D. Parsons are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-cr-104.