CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Dr. Alexander V. Otellin, 57, formerly of Charleston, was sentenced today to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for the unlawful distribution of oxycodone.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 27, 2017, Otellin distributed a quantity of oxycodone to a patient at his psychiatry practice in South Charleston. Otellin admitted that while his specialty was psychiatry, he treated the patient for pain management. Otellin further admitted that this distribution was without a legitimate medical purpose, outside the usual course of medical practice, and without proper authority.
Otellin distributed controlled substances to the patient starting on or about February 6, 2014, until on or about July 15, 2020. During this time period, Otellin knew the patient was receiving opiates from another physician. Urine screens indicated the patient was abusing heroin and fentanyl, yet Otellin continued to prescribe medications that are dangerous when combined with illegal unprescribed drugs.
For the first four years of this time period, Otellin did not review the patient’s medical history for substance abuse or habits or document a review of the database that tracks controlled substance prescriptions. For approximately five months during this time period, Otellin wrote prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances for the patient without evaluating him.
Otellin also prescribed oxycodone to the patient’s wife for pain management instead of referring the patient’s wife to a pain management specialist. Otellin only conducted three urine drug screenings over a five-year period that would have revealed whether the patient’s wife was using the prescription as prescribed, diverting it to her husband, or using other drugs.
At least three pharmacists complained to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that Otellin’s prescribing practices appeared improper, including when he prescribed the opioid medication buprenorphine at dosages above clinically effective levels. One patient who received above-therapeutic buprenorphine prescriptions from Otellin also received the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, and the anti-seizure and pain medicine gabapentin from Otellin. This patient died from an overdose at age 41. The coroner indicated the cause of death was “due to Buprenorphine, Alprazolam and Gabapentin Intoxication.”
Another patient of Otellin’s also died from an overdose. Otellin prescribed alprazolam, the sedative zolpidem, and amphetamine salts, used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to this patient. The patient’s probation officer notified Otellin in a letter that the patient was exchanging his prescription medication for methamphetamine. A bag of methamphetamine and multiple pill bottles from Otellin’s prescriptions for this patient were found in the patient’s home after his death. The medical examiner indicated the cause of death to be “combined fentanyl, alprazolam, and diazepam intoxication” and that the patient “consumed unprescribed and prescribed prescription drugs in the setting of chronic drug abuse.”
Otellin was believed to have fled the United States to Russia in order avoid prosecution following his indictment by a federal grand jury on September 22, 2021. Otellin possesses dual citizenship in the U.S. and Russia. The U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia worked with INTERPOL Washington to issue an Interpol Red Notice for Otellin. In September 2023, Otellin entered the country of Armenia and was arrested and detained by Armenian authorities. U.S. Marshals took custody of Otellin in Armenia and transported him back to the United States, arriving in Charleston on April 20, 2024. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Armenian authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Otellin.
Otellin has surrendered his medical license with the West Virginia Board of Medicine.
“Dr. Otellin repeatedly prescribed opiates, stimulants and other drugs outside the normal course of medical practice in communities that continue to suffer from the overdose crisis,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “I commend the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for the investigative work in this case, and the U.S. Marshals Service and the Office of International Affairs for ensuring Dr. Otellin faced justice.”
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Trial Attorney Charles D. Strauss of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division – Fraud Section and Assistant United States Attorneys Owen Reynolds and Andrew D. Isabell prosecuted the case.
