Dresher Doc Who Illegally Sold Opioids Fined In Civil Suit

DRESHER, PA — A Dresher doctor who federal authorities said illegally sold opioids to patients was fined in a civil suit, and will not be allowed to practice medicine again, officials announced on Monday.

Richard Ira Mintz, 69, had pleaded guilty in March to eight counts of distributing controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, court documents show.

The civil case penalty, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Monday, will be a $107,584 fine. He must also surrender his medical license.

This civil suit is separate from the criminal case. Mintz will be sentenced on the criminal charges on Sept. 11.

From about July 2016 through July 2018, Mintz, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, worked at a medical practice in Philadelphia. There, he prescribed thirteen prescriptions of OxyContin (oxycodone) and Xanax (benzodiazepine) to patients in exchange for cash, authorities said.

Mintz wrote the prescriptions in the names of three individuals whom he had never met or examined, according to federal authorities.

As part of the resolution, Mintz also agreed not to seek to renew or reinstate his medical license.

Editor's note: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Mintz had avoided jail time. That is incorrect, as he has not yet been sentenced for his criminal charges, and the penalties referenced in this story relate strictly to the civil settlement.