School board candidate charged in $18 million pill scheme

Three Deathsketeers –

Oct. 5, 2020 – Former Jackson Madison County School System board candidate Dr. Tameka Noel was among 49 people arrested Thursday for allegedly participating in an $18 million “pill mill” scheme.

A criminal complaint alleges Noel, 36, and Dr. Caesar Mark Capistrano, 61, wrote prescriptions knowing the drugs prescribed would be used for illicit purposes.

The two wrote prescriptions for several controlled substances like hydrocodone, oxycodone and codeine.

Noel was allegedly assisted by clinic manager Shirley Ann Williams, 48, who used a network of recruiters to enlist patients from the community and local homeless shelters. Those recruiters paid each patient a small fee, usually $50 to $200 in cash, to obtain controlled substance prescriptions, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas office. The recruiters paid the clinic based on the number of drugs prescribed, then filled the prescriptions at various complicit pharmacies and diverted them for resale on the streets.

Williams allegedly coordinated with Capistrano and Noel to prescribe dangerous drugs without legitimate medical purposes. The doctors occasionally included prescriptions for non-controlled substances, such as antibiotics and mineral ice, to make the prescriptions appear legitimate.