Garland pillmill doctors convicted by a jury after an eight day trial which showed they illegally prescribed powerful opioids.
A jury convicted Leovares A. Mendez, a 58-year-old doctor on all counts. Mendez co-owned and operated Cumbre Medical Center, LLC in Garland.
The US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton charged Dr. Mendez for multiple crimes. The charges Mendez received conviction for include one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and six counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.
Codefendant Cesar Pena-Rodriguez, 56, entered a guilty plea on January 17, 2024. This was five days before trial would begin.
According to evidence presented at trial, both physicians issued numerous prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose. They did so outside the usual course of professional medical practice.
The defendants repeatedly issued prescriptions for controlled substances. Those medications include hydrocodone, alprazolam, and tramadol.
The prescribed these medications to undercover agents posing as patients in exchange for cash payments.
The defendants sold medically unjustified prescriptions to undercover agents in 24 undercover visits.
At trial, evidence showed Dr. Mendez issued prescriptions despite performing only minimal or perfunctory medical evaluations during short visits. Some of these visits only lasted one minute.
Video and audio recordings of the visits made by the undercover officers. these recordings show a pattern of officers requesting the medications by name with no complaint of pain.
On multiple occasions, Dr. Mendez coached undercover officers as to what to say if ever contacted by law enforcement regarding illegal prescriptions.
Garland PillMill Doctors Convicted, Sentences Upcoming
Dr. Mendez now faces up to 140 years in federal prison – twenty years per count.
Mendez will receive his sentence at an unannounced later date.
Pena-Rodriguez pleaded to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Dr. Pena-Rodriguez will receive his sentence on April 22, 2024.
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