PROVIDENCE, RI – A Providence man who admitted to participating in a conspiracy to create and fill fraudulent prescriptions for opioid pills by using stolen medical practitioner identification numbers, unlawfully paying for many of the prescriptions with the use of medical insurance, and soliciting others to participate in the conspiracy, was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison.

At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith also ordered Michael Slonski, 48, to serve 3 years supervised release upon completion of his term of incarceration.

Slonski pled guilty on April 2, 2018, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute Oxycodone.

Slonski’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman and Jeffrey Ebersole, Resident Agent in Charge of the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations.

At the time of his guilty plea, Slonski admitted to being part of a conspiracy that created fraudulent prescriptions utilizing the identities, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) identification numbers, and signatures of medical practitioners without their consent. Prescriptions for varying amounts of Oxycodone pills were written and presented to pharmacies by some members of the conspiracy and others working at the direction of the conspirators.

The scheme often times included the fraudulent use of medical insurance to pay pharmacies for the illicit prescriptions. Most of the Oxycodone pills gained with the use of fraudulent prescriptions were sold to others for distribution.

Slonski admitted that his role in the conspiracy included producing fraudulent Oxycodone prescriptions, passing or causing others to fill the prescriptions at pharmacies, and benefiting personally by selling fraudulently obtained pills.

Robert Rose, 52, of Providence, the acknowledged leader of the conspiracy, was sentenced on October 15, 2018, to 72 months in federal prison. Rose admitted to the Court that as the leader of the conspiracy, he paid for individuals’ identities, health care insurance information, and prescribing medical practitioners’ names and DEA numbers. Rose provided that information to others who participated in the conspiracy, and provided special paper necessary to produce the fraudulent prescriptions.

Rose also admitted that he ran the conspiracy for several months while incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institution on an unrelated matter.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dulce Donovan.

The matter was investigated by the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations.

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Topic(s): 

Drug Trafficking

Opioids

Component(s): 

USAO - Rhode Island

Contact: 

Jim Martin (401) 709-5357

Press Release Number: 

19-14