Greed Kills –
August 14, 2020 – In some cases, he wrote prescriptions in combinations that were dangerous even if used correctly. One patient, Ashley Adkins, was prescribed Oxycodone — an opiate pain medicine — and alprazolam — an anti-anxiety benzodiazepine better known as Xanax — in a single visit. She died of an overdose two days later.
Although Sakkal’s attorneys argued that Adkins and other patients were responsible for their own actions, Sakkal was convicted of 30 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances outside the scope of a medical practice and with no legitimate medical purpose, plus six counts of use of a registration number that was issued to someone else.
“Sakkal issued deadly drug cocktails without regard for the repeated warnings he received from employees, patients, pharmacists, another doctor, and the electronic records system,” said U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers in a news release announcing the sentence. “This doctor dealer even ignored overdoses by his patients. Instead of helping his patients, he caused more harm, and as a result, he earned spending the next few decades in federal prison.”
