A Florida physician accused of illegally doling out prescriptions for narcotics is now being sued by the federal government for recovery of more than $125,000 in unpaidstudent loans.
The government is seeking payment of $114,790 in unpaid principal and $11,624 in accrued interest charges on Dr. John Mubang’s federal college loans, The Tampa Tribune reported on Monday (“Feds Sue Seffner Doctor Accused in Drug Case Over Student Loans,” Oct. 25, 2010).
The lawsuit filed by the government doesn’t specify when Mubang took out these student loans or at what school. According to state Department of Health records, Mubang, 59, received his medical degree in 1983 in the Philippines from Southwestern University College and his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York in Buffalo.
Mubang has no comment on the student loan lawsuit, his attorney told The Tampa Tribune.
The government is seeking payment of $114,790 in unpaid principal and $11,624 in accrued interest charges on Dr. John Mubang’s federal college loans, The Tampa Tribune reported on Monday (“Feds Sue Seffner Doctor Accused in Drug Case Over Student Loans,” Oct. 25, 2010).
The lawsuit filed by the government doesn’t specify when Mubang took out these student loans or at what school. According to state Department of Health records, Mubang, 59, received his medical degree in 1983 in the Philippines from Southwestern University College and his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York in Buffalo.
Mubang has no comment on the student loan lawsuit, his attorney told The Tampa Tribune.
Student Loan Lawsuit Follows Drug Trafficking Charges
Mubang was charged earlier this year with drug trafficking, accused of prescribing controlled drugs in “bad faith” — failing to ensure that his patients truly needed powerful and potentially dangerous painkillers before prescribing the drugs.
The drug charges stemmed from a 2008 undercover investigation conducted by the county sheriff’s office. State attorneys accused Mubang of quickly writing out prescriptions for powerful pain and anxiety medications for three undercover detectives who never specifically complained of pain. The detectives, in court testimony, said that Mubang never physically examined them or asked them for a medical history but simply wrote out quick prescriptions for opiates and other drugs in response to the detectives’ vague complaints about “stiffness” and “discomfort.”
A three-day trial last month on the drug trafficking charges ended in a mistrial with a hung jury, when jurors couldn’t come to a unanimous decision on whether Mubang was guilty.
The state attorney’s office announced last week that it won’t seek a retrial on the drug case. Instead, in an agreement with the state, Mubang will enter a pretrial intervention program, which typically lasts between nine and 18 months and includes required hours of community service.
Mubang’s arrangement with the state does not constitute an admission of guilt on his part. He’s allowed to continue practicing medicine during the intervention program, and his medical license will remain clear. Upon his successful completion of the intervention program, the drug trafficking charges against him will be dropped.
Medical examiner records revealed that Mubang has prescribed drugs to at least five people who died of accidental overdoses, the St. Petersburg Times reported (“State Won’t Retry Hillsborough Doctor’s Drug Trafficking Case,” Oct. 21, 2010). Those deaths were not mentioned during his trial.
link : http://www.nextstudent.com
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