Salem Nurse Ran 'Drive-By' Drug Clinic, Stole $130K: Feds

SALEM, NH -- A Salem nurse admitted to stealing nearly $130,000 in Medicare funds by running a "drive-by" drug clinic that made it easy for patients to obtain drugs including oxycodone, Percocet and Adderall. Kristen Khanna, 42, of Windham, ran the scheme while operating Total Pain Care and Wellness on Stiles Road in Salem. She pleaded guilty this month to healthcare fraud and prescription drug fraud in federal court in Concord.

New Hampshire U.S. Attorney Scott Murray called Khanna's actions "sad" and said she contributed to the state's ongoing opioid crisis.

"The battle against opioids is being waged on numerous fronts," Murray said in a statement. "One sad reality is that there are health care providers who have contributed to the opioid crisis by engaging in illegal conduct."

Khanna operated Total Pain Care from October 2009 to December 2015.

"The charges focus on 2014 and 2015, when Khanna was the only licensed provider at Total Pain Care, but had an employee who was not a medical provider," Murray said. "Khanna was often not present at Total Pain Care and allowed office visits to be conducted by the employee. On numerous occasions, Khanna would then bill Medicare for those office visits as if she had conducted them herself, causing Medicare to reimburse Total Pain Care for the services purportedly rendered. Medicare would not have paid for these sham office visits if it had known that the employee, and not Khanna, was providing the service."

Khanna also admitted to providing more than 200 blank prescriptions to patients for controlled substances as part of the Medicare fraud.

Khanna agreed to repay $127,264.98 to Medicare. She will be sentenced January 4.

"As New Hampshire battles the opioid epidemic we simply cannot allow unqualified individuals to recklessly oversee blank, pre-signed prescription pads," said Phillip Coyne, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a statement. "This investigation succeeded through joint teamwork with the Drug Enforcement Administration. And we look forward to working with local, state, and other federal law enforcement partners on future cases."

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