A Washington County woman has pleaded guilty to helping illegally peddle drugs from the addiction treatment clinic she owned, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady.
Jennifer Hess, 50, founded and owned Redirections Treatment Advocates LLC, which had operated five clinics in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Hess used pre-signed prescriptions and forged doctor’s signatures to distribute buprenorphine, also known as Subutex and Suboxone, according to Brady’s office.
She also pleaded guilty to health care fraud, because she submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed drugs.
She will be sentenced Oct. 30.
A federal grand jury indicted Hess last June, three months after one of her employees, Christopher Handa, was indicted on similar charges.
Handa pleaded guilty last year of submitting illegal prescriptions for more than 18,000 doses of buprenorphine.
