CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - Eugenio Menez, a former physician of Fairmont, West Virginia, has admitted to a drug charge, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell announced.
Menez, age 69, pled guilty to a one-count information this week charging him with “Distribution of Controlled Substances Outside the Bounds of Professional Medical Practice." Menez admitted to illegally distributing oxycodone in September 2015 in Marion County.
Menez was a family physician who practiced in Marion County. He distributed controlled substances outside the course of professional medical practice by writing prescriptions for several female patients in exchange for sexual favors. Even though the female patients had medical appointments, those visits involved sexual acts, and Menez did not conduct medical exams of those patients. The appointments would be scheduled either early in the morning at his office before his staff reported or at his residence. The patients believed they would have been denied their prescriptions if they did not consent to the sexual acts. The patients’ accounts were corroborated by numerous video recordings produced by Menez.
“This doctor’s actions are beyond reprehensible. His medical degree put him in a position of power and he abused it in a disgusting manner. His degree will not protect him at sentencing," said Powell.
Menez has surrendered his medical license, as well as his DEA registration, which permitted him to write prescriptions.
Menez faces up to 20 years incarceration and a fine of up to $1,000,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zelda E. Wesley is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
