Doctor Guilty Of Selling $85 Million In Pain Pills Online

A 60-year-old physician could be sentenced to decades behind bars after pleading guilty to federal charges that he conspired to create a business that illegally sold $85 million worth of pain medication over the Internet.

Juan Antonio Ibanez, who practiced in Tampa, Haines City and Winter Haven, and his co-conspirators sold more than 50 million hydrocodone pills illegally from at least 2003 through November 2007 on at least 13 Internet clinic Web sites, including prescriptiondrugplanet.com, foxfamilymeds.com, sunshinefamilymeds.com, online-scripts.com and medsforpain.com.

Under his plea agreement, Ibanez agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and surrender his Florida medical license.

Ibanez and his co-conspirators hired other doctors, including some in the Tampa area, to work for businesses set up in Winter Haven, Haines city, Kissimmee, Orlando, Celebration, Lake Alfred and Costa Rica.

The Web sites had "self-serving statements and meaningless disclaimers," including one stating that the site operated "100 percent legally," according to Ibanez's plea agreement.

"During this process, did you act knowingly and intentionally with due disregard for the law?" U.S. Magistrate Mark Pizzo asked Ibanez during his hearing this afternoon.

"Yes, sir," Ibanez responded.

Asked his level of education, Ibanez said, "I'm a medical doctor, sir."

Ibanez had a difficult time remembering how long he had been practicing, finally saying "about 30 years."

Among charges to which Ibanez pleaded guilty are conspiracy to illegally distribute hydrocodone and conspiracy to illegally use Drug Enforcement Administration controlled-substance registration numbers issued to other physicians in the course of distributing hydrocodone.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, Ibanez's scheme used a mass marketing campaign that enticed customers to obtain prescription drugs without a prescription from their own physicians. Customers accessed one of the Web sites, filled out a brief questionnaire and selected from a price list the type and dosage of hydrocodone they wanted, sometimes submitting medical records.

The maximum penalty Ibanez faces is 20 years in federal prison, a $500,000 fine and three years of probation. Pizzo said Ibanez won't be sentenced for at least 80 days.