Psychiatrist Charged in Schemes to Illegally Prescribe Drugs

May 16, 2018

On April 24, 2018, the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine temporarily suspended psychiatrist Bruce A. Lief's medical license, pending a hearing, on the grounds that his continued practice of medicine may be an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety.

Lief was arrested on March 7, 2018 for illegally prescribing 24,990 doses of Oxycodone, OxyContin, Methadone and other drugs to at least four patients for cash. He was charged with violations of the Controlled Substance Act and other related offenses. Attorney General’s agents were alerted to Lief’s suspicious prescription activity by police, who received a tip from a pharmacist.

Lief told investigators that many of his pain management clients paid in cash after a patient showed up with $240 in cash for a “prior visit” while the agents were there. Lief also admitted to prescribing an “excessive amount of opioids” and said he needed the money to pay bills. 

Source: "Attorney General Josh Shapiro: Two PA Doctors Charged in Separate Schemes to Illegally Prescribe Opioid Pain Pills," www.attorneygeneral.gov,March 8, 2018, https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/press-releases/attorney-general-josh-shapiro-two-pa-doctors-charged-in-separate-schemes-to-illegally-prescribe-opioid-pain-pills/