PITTSBURGH - A former resident of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 180 days of home confinement; three years’ probation; fined a total of $20,000.00; and ordered to pay $156,902.89 in restitution on his conviction of unlawfully prescribing buprenorphine and committing health care fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Michael Anthony Bummer, age 40.

According to information presented to the court, Bummer, a physician, was employed at Redirections Treatment Advocates (Redirections), a buprenorphine clinic with offices in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Under federal law, a prescription for a controlled substance is required to be signed and dated the day it is issued. Bummer and other doctors at Redirections would routinely pre-sign blank prescriptions for buprenorphine, which is a scheduled controlled substance under federal law. The pre-signed prescriptions were then given to other medically-unlicensed employees at Redirections who completed the prescription and provided it to the patients in exchange for cash. On numerous occaisons, the doctors were not physically present at Redirections and did not exam their patients when prescriptions bearing their names were issued. For example, on August 17, 2016, one of Bummer’s patients received a prescription for buprenorphine although Bummer was not in the office and did not see the patient. Because the prescriptions were illegally issued, Medicare and Medicaid were defrauded when Redirections’ patients used their insurance to fill the prescriptions. When confronted by an investigator, Bummer surrendered his license to prescribe controlled substances.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Schwab stated that the sentence was intended to achieve the goals of punishment and the other sentencing factors set forth in the United States Code.

Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Cessar and Michael Leo Ivory prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Brady added the investigation leading to the filing of charges in these cases was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic.

The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.

PITTSBURGH, PA. - A resident of Sewickley, PA, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of unlawfully distributing controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and health care fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

Michael Bummer, 39, pleaded guilty to three counts before United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Bummer was a physician practicing at Redirections Treatment Advocates, a Suboxone clinic, located in Washington, PA. Bummer admitted that he and others conspired together to create and submit unlawful prescriptions for buprenorphine, known as Subutex and Suboxone, and then unlawfully dispensed those controlled substances to other persons. Bummer also admitted to committing health care fraud for causing fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicaid and Medicare for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed buprenorphine.

Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for January 9, 2019 at 11 a.m. The law provides for a total per count sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000.00, or both, for the controlled substances offenses. Bummer faces an additional maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and fine of $250,000.00 for the health care fraud charge. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar and Michael L. Ivory are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which combines personnel and resources from the following agencies to combat the growing prescription opioid epidemic: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.