19August 2020
MEDIA COURTHOUSE– A Ridley Park chiropractic physician was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months at the county prison in Concord Wednesday after pleading guilty to dispersing a controlled substance and forgery.
Marc Steven Persson, 41, of the 600 block of Academy Road in Swarthmore, was jailed in November 2018 and charged with composing fraudulent pain reliever prescriptions for patients that included Percocet, Xanax and Oxycodone. He was also charged with six counts each of shipment and criminal attempt to provide an illegal drug, and 7 counts each of forgery and procuring a drug by fraud.
Six charges of delivering Oxycodone were consolidated into 2 counts for Wednesday's plea offer before Common Pleas Court President Judge Kevin F. Kelly. The plea worked out by Assistant District Attorney Christopher DiRosato and defense counsel Brian Malloy also included one count of forgery for composing a prescription using another physician's signature on a prescription. The staying counts were dismissed.
Ridley Township officers were dispatched to Perssonal Health Chiropratic at 100 E. Chester Pike May 9, 2017, where they talked to two of Persson's workers, according to an affidavit of possible cause written by Ridley Detective Shawn McGee.
The workers stated they became suspicious after getting several alerts from regional pharmacies that Persson's clients were presenting prescriptions that were being declined and flagged as deceitful, according to the affidavit.
Persson had previously been partners with a medical physician who provided prescriptions for Persson's chiropractic clients, according to the affidavit. The physician left around March 2017 and another medical professional came in for one day to fill the spot.
The affidavit specifies that the staff members received notice from a local drug store April 7, 2017, that a person of Persson's clients had actually presented a prescription for 90 tablets of 5 mg Percocet written on a pad belonging to the former partner, however signed by the second doctor. After examining the signature, the workers determined it as Persson's handwriting, according to the affidavit. The doctor likewise verified he had actually not written the prescription, the affidavit states.
The staff members were notified by another pharmacy May 9, 2017, that someone impersonating the former partner had actually “employed” a prescription for another client, however supplied an incorrect Drug Enforcement Agency number for that medical professional. That prescription was for Xanax and the nerve discomfort medication Gabapentin. The very same patient had actually formerly filled a prescription fraudulently signed by the replacement medical professional for 120 pills of 5 mg Oxycodone, according to the affidavit.
A minimum of 2 other clients were also able to fill fraudulent prescriptions for the narcotics Hydromorphone and Oxycodone-Acetomenaphine, the affidavit states.
The staff members said they remembered Persson particularly requested that they pull the charts for 5 patients April 6, 2017, consisting of those determined in the affidavit.
Persson informed McGee and Ridley Detective Sean Brydges throughout an interview that he had used his previous partner's prescription pad to provide the April 7 Percocet prescription, but had signed the prescription using his own name, according to the affidavit.
He supposedly said he believed it was OK for him to do that because the patient had actually gotten the same prescription from the 2nd
doctor before. When provided with the prescription bearing the second physician's forged signature, Persson apparently admitted that he had forged the signature and had fraudulently written or called in prescriptions for a minimum of three other clients.
“Persson mentioned that he might have written/forged more, however, he might not remember the number of prescriptions but specified there were more,” according to the affidavit.
Persson's partner, likewise a staff member of the practice, additionally told detectives that her other half had been composing or calling in deceitful prescriptions after the doctors stopped working there, according to the affidavit.
Investigators talked to one former patient who suggested he had actually seen a physician at the chiropractic workplace in January 2017, who composed him a prescription, however had not seen one there because March.
“There were no physicians composing the prescription, as quickly as I would come in he (Marc Persson) would hand me my prescription and I would not ask questions, simply believe it was typical routine,” the client said, according to the affidavit.
Detectives likewise interviewed both doctors. The previous partner said he had actually asked for that Persson return all of his prescription pads left at business, but could not validate that was done. The 2nd physician likewise stated he had actually not provided Persson authorization to utilize his name, signature or DEA number, according to the affidavit.
Persson has actually been totally free on unsecured bail of $50,000 since Nov. 13, 2018. He will not have any credit for time served under the plea, but will not have to report to the prison up until 6 p.m. Jan. 15 due to issues over coronavirus. He remains on a five-year concurrent probation that will extend beyond his prison sentence.
Persson is qualified for early release on good time in addition to work release, under the sentence. He should likewise pay a $200 expense assessment and supply a DNA sample to state cops. His licensure and capability to write prescriptions were not discussed as part of the plea.
DiRosato noted the sentence was well below standard guidelines of 22 to 36 months for a few of the counts, which would have led to state prison time.
Malloy explained his customer Wednesday as a strong family man and strong member of the community, and Persson thanked everyone for “getting the matter solved.”
Source: delcotimes.com