‘Pill mill’ doctor’s conviction upheld
Investigators, a prosecutor and SWAT team members at the offices of Dr. John Whan Kim on June 29, 2018. (Deuce Niven, TLT)
By DEUCE NIVEN
tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com
An appeal from “pill mill” physician Jong Whan Kim has not swayed a three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has upheld an appeal despite his Dec. 28, 2021 guilty plea, a news release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina says.
Prohibited from ever practicing medicine again, the former Dr. Kim operated what prosecutors described as a “pill mill” out of his medical practice on East 5th Street, adjacent to Tabor City Elementary School.
“The Fourth Circuit’s decision was the first published opinion by the Court upholding a physician’s conviction for unlawful prescribing of opioids and other controlled substances since the Supreme Court decided Ruan v. United States, 142 S. Ct. 2370 (2022), which made it more difficult for the government to convict physicians for unlawful prescribing,” the news release said.
“Kim abused his trust and authority as a physician by writing illegitimate prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, and in doing so, placed his patients and children at a local elementary school at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “The Fourth Circuit’s ruling reaffirms that doctors may not abuse their authority to write prescriptions for controlled substances by knowingly issuing prescriptions outside the scope of legitimate medical practice.
“Our commitment to prosecuting physicians and other prescribers who operate pill mills in Eastern North Carolina remains steadfast.”
In his 2021 plea Kim, 76, admitted to conspiring with his office assistant, Tammy Thompson; to unlawfully dispense and distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, and marijuana; to multiple counts of unlawful dispensing and distribution of oxycodone; and to distribution of marijuana and aiding and abetting.
Kim was sentenced to serve 78 months in prison.
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