PHILADELPHIA – Dr. Alan Summers, 79, of Ambler, PA, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by the Honorable Lawrence F. Stengel to 48 months in prison, followed by 2 years supervised release. Summers was also ordered to pay $14,000 in restitution, $4.6 million in restitution and a $1700 special assessment.

Dr. Summers sold commonly abused prescription drugs in exchange for cash payments.  Dr. Summers previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, health care fraud, and money laundering, and was announced by United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen, Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan A. Wilson of the Drug Enforcement Administration and Special Agent-in-Charge, Maureen Dixon with Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

Dr. Summers operated a medical clinic on South Broad Street in Philadelphia, and sometimes operated under the business name “NASAPT” (National Association for Substance Abuse-Prevention & Treatment).  Dr. Summers employed numerous other doctors, including co-defendants Dr. Azad Khan and Dr. Keyhosrow Parsia. The defendants sold prescriptions for Suboxone and Klonopin in exchange for cash payments. Suboxone is a brand name for a drug used to treat opiate addiction. None of the defendants conducted medical examinations or mental health examinations as required by law in order to legally prescribe these controlled substances. Dr. Summers also assisted his customers in obtaining health insurance benefits for these illegally prescribed controlled substances by providing false information to health insurance companies so that his customers could fill the prescriptions using their health insurance. Many of the customers who frequented this clinic were, in fact, drug dealers or drug addicts who sold the prescribed medications. During the duration of the conspiracy, Dr. Summers illegally sold over $5 million worth of controlled substances.

“Dr. Alan Summers cared more for his financial gain, than his oath as a doctor,” said United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen. “His actions helped fuel the opioid epidemic and the illegal distribution of prescription drugs. Today’s sentence should serve as a powerful deterrent to those medical professionals who might consider risking their careers and liberty for illegally profiting on the drug trade. Our office along with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and prosecute those individuals whose unscrupulous and illegal conduct contributes to this deadly epidemic.”

“Dr. Summers was responsible for the illegal distribution of millions of dollars of prescription drugs that are commonly used to treat opioid addiction, and did so solely for profit,” said Jonathan A. Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division.  “As part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office new law enforcement opioid task force, the DEA will aggressively continue to identify and investigate the doctors that are contributing to the opioid crisis affecting our region through their criminal acts.” 

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, with assistance from the Philadelphia Police Department and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Narcotics Investigations.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert Livermore.