Kentucky doctor sentenced for improper prescribing, ‘exceptionally high dosages’
A Kentucky doctor convicted of illegally prescribing drugs has been sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison.
A jury convicted Crystal Compton of conspiring to improperly use a federal prescribing registration; conspiring to illegally dispense controlled substances; and dozens of charges of distributing pain pills and anti-depressants by way of prescriptions that were not written for a legitimate medical purpose.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced Compton on Wednesday. She had been in custody since being convicted last September.
Compton is a Pike County native who received a degree in osteopathic medicine from the University of Pikeville in 2006, with a practice area of internal medicine.
She worked at the hospital in Pikeville before going into private practice at the East Kentucky Medical Group and later at her own practice, called the Good Doctor, according to court records.
After a state investigator raised concerns about Compton’s prescribing, including writing prescriptions for high doses of drugs, federal authorities investigated and a grand jury ultimately indicted Compton and Kayla Lambert, a nurse who worked for her.
In a state licensing proceeding, Compton argued her prescribing was appropriate, but a federal jury convicted her on 46 charges.
The jury convicted Lambert on a charge of conspiring to improperly use a federal prescribing registration and conspiring to illegally dispense controlled substances.
Wier sentenced Lambert to five years in prison.
The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Smith, said in a sentencing memorandum that the evidence showed many of Compton’s prescriptions were for “exceptionally high dosages” and that Lambert sometimes signed Compton’s name on prescriptions.
Smith said Compton and Lambert issued prescriptions with “no medical rationale whatsoever” at times.
Compton’s attorney, Sebastian M. Joy, said in a sentencing memo that witnesses and supporters described Compton as a caring and compassionate doctor.
She sometimes traveled to patients’ homes to help them; paid patients’ co-pays herself on many occasions so they wouldn’t miss treatment; and sometimes buy medicine and groceries for patients.
“She was not a greedy doctor who was out to make money for herself and unjustly enrich herself,” Joy wrote.
Lambert’s attorney, Ron Diddle, said in a sentencing memo that she is a family-oriented, compassionate person who enjoys helping other people.
Lambert became a caretaker for Compton, who was injured in a wreck and had serious health problems.
But Lambert became too attached to Compton and “trusted her beyond measure,” which led to her involvement in the conspiracy, Diddle wrote.
Smith, the prosecutor, pointed to the harm caused by the improper prescribing.
Some of Compton’s patients later sought treatment for opioid addiction, and four testified about the role that prescriptions issued by Compton and Lambert played in starting or feeding their addiction, Smith wrote.
“Compton’s and Lambert’s crimes were not harmless,” the prosecutor wrote.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure revoked Compton’s license in April 2022.
