Johnstown doctor pleads guilty to distributing controlled medication, health care fraud

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A prescribing physician pleaded guilty to federal charges of dispensing and distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and health care fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.

Brady says 50-year-old Dr. Michael Cash, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to the three counts Friday.

Court documents show Cash, a physician with SKS Associates Inc., conspired to create and submit unlawful prescriptions for buprenorphine and unlawfully dispense the controlled substance to other people.

Cash is also accused of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed medication, according to Brady.

In April, the Drug Enforcement Agency and other government agents executed a warrant at the Johnstown suboxene clinic, seizing several documents from the clinic.

Cash's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 17, according to Brady. He faces up to 30 years in prison, a fine of $1.5 million or both, according to federal documents.

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