North Texas Physician Sentenced

SHERMAN, Texas – U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs announced that the Eastern District of Texas sentenced Stanley Charles Evans, 63, to federal prison for drug trafficking violations.

Evans pleaded guilty on Sep. 12, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and health care fraud and was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan.

“Overprescribing opioids has wreaked havoc on our country over the years, and we’ve seen devastating losses in Texas relating to opioid overdoses,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “This doctor took an oath not to harm, yet he chose to become an illegal drug dealer by overprescribing powerful drugs. I hope this case sends a powerful message to doctors thinking about engaging in such conduct.”

“Using one’s trusted status as a medical professional for unlawful acts cannot go unpunished,” said Eduardo A. Chávez, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas. “Today’s sentence demonstrates how Mr. Evans is being held accountable for his actions. DEA Dallas will continue aggressively pursuing medical professionals who disregard their oath not to harm.”

According to information presented in court, beginning in 2017, Evans, a licensed physician operating a family medicine practice in Denton, unlawfully prescribed approximately 370,000 dosage units of hydrocodone outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. An investigation began after learning that Evans was pre-signing opioid prescriptions for patients exhibiting drug-seeking behavior. Evans would pre-sign the scripts, and his four nurse practitioners saw the patients. An investigation revealed patients repeatedly obtained the most potent prescription for Hydrocodone from Evans and one of the nurses without ever being thoroughly examined or providing any documentation regarding their “pain.” They also determined that Evans was only present at the office approximately half the time he claimed and that prescriptions for Schedule II opioids were being written for patients even while Evans was on vacation. The investigation also revealed that nurses were seeing 20 to 30 patients a day, and their salaries were production based, receiving a percentage of what they billed instead of a set salary. Additionally, nurses were billing Medicare and TriCare under Evans’ medical identification number, resulting in an increased government charge for physician services.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Task Force Group, Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Services, and Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Johnson prosecuted this case.