Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority Joel Smithers
Joel Smithers is a Virginia-based doctor who was sentenced to 40 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of illegally prescribing opioid medications from his “pill mill” facility.
Justice Department prosecutors said Smithers gave out more than 500,000 doses of opioids over a two-year period. The jury also concluded that his actions led to the death of at least one woman from West Virginia who came to him for medication.
Judge James Jones issued the sentence on October 2, 2019, in the U.S. District Court in Abingdon. The Martinsville Bulletin reported that during sentencing, Judge Jones referred to Smithers’ operation as a pill mill and that it was the “worst case” he had ever seen.
Smithers had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Joel Smithers Was Accused Of Prescribing Opioids ‘Without a Legitimate Medical Purpose’
Western District of VirginiaJoel Smithers indictment
Joel Smithers opened his office in Martinsville, Virginia, in August of 2015. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Virginia, Smithers gave out more than 500,000 Schedule II controlled substances in less than two years.
The indictment alleged that Smithers distributed opioid drugs to people who didn’t actually need them and in larger quantities than would have been medically necessary. Investigators wrote that Smithers handed out the drugs “without a legitimate medical purpose” and that he was operating “beyond the bounds of medical practice.”
Joel Smithers indictment
The indictment lists the specific drugs given out, such as oxymorphone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, and fentanyl, and the quantities. For example, the indictment shows that on September 3, 2015, Smithers gave one patient 120 oxycodone pills. You can read the full indictment here.
Smithers was found guilty in May of 2019 on 859 counts of illegally prescribing Schedule II controlled substances, one count of maintaining a place for the purpose of illegally distributing controlled substances, and one count of possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. It took the federal jury just seven hours to decide on the guilty verdict.
2. Prosecutors: Smith Profited More Than $700,000 From Patients Who Drove Hundreds of Miles to Visit Him
Prosecutors said Joel Smithers did not accept health insurance. By the time law enforcement officials executed a search warrant at his office in March of 2017, Smithers had pocketed more than $700,000 in cash and credit card payments, according to the Justice Department.
Patients came from hundreds of miles away to get opioids from Smithers. Officials said Smithers distributed opioids to people from Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. During the trial, Smithers stated that he did not advertise his services, but that his practice grew by word of mouth.
A former patient told the jury that he used to drive several hours from Kentucky to Virginia to visit Smithers. NPR reported that on the witness stand, the man admitted to having an opioid addiction and that he went to Smithers “after another doctor refused to give him pills.”
DEA Special Agent Jesse Fong referred to Smithers as a “large scale drug dealer” in a news release following the guilty verdict. Fong added, “The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squads will relentlessly investigate and arrest these drug dealers disguised as doctors.”
The Washington Free Bacon, citing DEA officials, reported that Smithers’ office was also an unsafe environment. Patients reportedly slept outside of the building, a receptionist alleged lived at the facility during the week, and the office was said to lack basic supplies.
3. The Judge Recommended That Smithers Receive Mental Health Treatment In Prison
Western District of Virginia Joel Smithers’ sentence
As referenced above, Joel Smithers received a federal prison sentence of 40 years. He had faced a minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum of life behind bars.
According to court documents, the judge recommended that Smithers receive mental health treatment and participate in the “Residential Drug Treatment Program” while in federal prison. The document adds that Smithers should be detained at a facility near his home in order to “facilitate visits with family members.”
The court document further states that Smithers was fined $86,000. The money was ordered to be paid in full immediately after the court “assessed the defendant’s ability to pay.”
After he is eventually released from custody, Smithers will then be under supervision for at least three years.
VineLink.comJoel Smithers
Smithers has been behind bars since the jury found him guilty on the 861 federal charges. Inmate records show he was held at the Abingdon Regional Jail, which is part of the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority.
4. The Virginia Board of Medicine Suspended Smithers’ Medical License in 2018
Virginia Board of MedicineJoel Smithers
Joel Smithers lost his right to practice medicine in May of 2018. That’s when the Virginia Board of Medicine formally suspended his medical license. The notice of the suspension stated that the decision was made due to a “substantial danger to public health or safety.”
A search of online records shows that Smithers earned his medical degree from the DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University in 2012.
5. Alleged Former Patients Blasted Joel Smithers On an Online Directory of Physicians Before the Case Began
TopNPI.comJoel Smithers
The online physicians’ directory TopNPI.com still has a profile for Joel Smithers. It states that Smithers was a general practice specialist and had more than 7 years of experience as a practitioner. The page included that Smithers did not have any acceptable insurances listed.
Comments at the bottom of the page appear to have been written in 2016, which was before investigators conducted the search warrant at Smithers’ office. One person called “Bobby” wrote that the only people who sought Smithers’ services “either doesn’t know about him or are drug addicts.” Another person added that certain pharmacies wouldn’t fill prescriptions subscribed by Smithers and referred to him as a “dirt doctor” who “worried about nothing but money.”
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