Montgomery Doctor Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Court

U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin has announced that former Montgomery doctor Richard Stehl has been sentenced to 15 years.  The sentence follows his conviction last year on 94 counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances, two counts of health care fraud and five counts of money laundering.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, evidence showed that from 2010 through 2018, Stehl operated a medical practice, Healthcare on Demand. Evidence showed Stehl prescribed addictive controlled substances, including hydrocodone cough syrup, Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin, Valium and Ativan, despite knowing no legitimate medical purposes existed to support these prescriptions.

The U.S. Attorney says during the trial, the jury heard from ten of Stehl’s former patients. Each patient received multiple controlled substances prescriptions from Stehl. Several of the patients either developed addictions while seeing Stehl or had existing addictions worsened as a result of the supposed medical treatment Stehl provided.

During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Terry F. Moorer emphasized the harm that Stehl inflicted upon his patients, the fact that he prioritized profit over patient care and Stehl’s complete lack of remorse as grounds for imposing the 15-year sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney.