Here are the Memphis medical professionals indicted in federal opioid crackdown

Editor's note: The federal charges against Dr. Thomas Hughes for nine counts of illegally dispensing testosterone to himself were dismissed in September 2019.

Four medical professionals in Memphis, including one practicing Memphis-based psychiatrist who is accused of trading fraudulent opioid prescriptions for sexual favors, were charged with controlled substances violations as part of a federal crackdown on medical professionals who use their credentials to illegally prescribe opioids to others. 

Dubbed the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, or ARPO, the multi-agency operation identified and charged 60 health care officials in Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Alabama. 

On Wednesday, Attorney General William P. Barr and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II announced the results of the sting alongside law enforcement partners from several states. 

“The opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history, and Appalachia has suffered the consequences more than perhaps any other region,” Barr said. 

During a Thursday news conference in Memphis, federal prosecutors identified medical professionals in the area who were swept up in the raid.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant described the charged individuals as "white-coated drug dealers with prescription pads" and promised more indictments were on the way as the multi-agency task force continues its investigations. 

Dunavant also said the opioid epidemic is now costing 130 Americans their lives every day. 

Indictments have been filed against:

Michael Hellman

Hellman, 72, is accused of selling large amounts of promethazine with codeine to patients without first administering a physical examination, as well as unlawfully distributing controlled substances. 

Hellman is an anesthesiologist with a practice based in Collierville where he specializes in pain management and "addiction medicine," according to several online medical practitioner registries.

Thomas Hughes

Hughes, 69, is a licensed endocrinologist facing nine counts of illegally dispensing testosterone to himself.

Richard Farmer

Farmer is a psychiatrist with a practice in East Memphis, and is accused of prescribing hydrocodone and aprazolam, or Xanax, to female patients in exchange for sexual favors or their companionship.

He is also accused of keeping inadequate patient records, prescribing addictive substances to patients before meeting them and not requiring a drug screen for some patients before prescribing the sometimes deadly combination of hydrocodone and alprazolam.

James Litton

Litton, 43, is a former nurse practitioner accused of illegally prescribing Schedule II controlled substances such as alprazolam, clonazepam and carisoprodol. 

Litton, who owns Consolidated Health Services of Memphis, fired another named defendant, former nurse practitioner Kathryn Russell, from his practice last year when Russell's own charges came to light.

Litton is also accused of committing health care fraud in connection to billing charges for unnecessary diagnostic tests. 

Others indicted in West Tennessee:

• Jeffrey Young, a nurse practitioner in Jackson, has been accused of prescribing opioids and other addictive medications without justification, and sometimes receiving sexual favors as payment. 
• Indicted alongside Young were Dr. Alexander Alperovich and Dr. Andrew Rudin, according to federal court records. All three suspects are charged with conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and other drug-related charges.
• Dr. Charles Alston and nurse practitioner Britney Petway, both of the Superior Health and Wellness Clinic in Jackson, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances.
• Dr. Thomas Ballard III, another Jackson medical professional, was charged with multiple counts of unlawful drug distribution and distributing a controlled substance resulting in death or serious bodily injury. In total, Ballard illegally prescribed 4.2 million opioid pills, authorities say.
• Dr. Jay Shires, Dr. Loran Karlosky and nurse practitioner Mary Ann Board, all of the Downtown Medical Clinic in Bells, have been charged with multiple counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy.
• Pharmacist Glenn Bonifield Jr. and pharmacy technician Michelle Bonifield, both of whom worked at the Mehr Drug Store in Bells, have been charged with multiple counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy.

If convicted, all defendants will face up to 20 years in federal prison and fines up to $1 million. 

Dunavant: We're just getting started 

Dunavant said this week's indictments in no way signal the end of the operation and that agencies would continue to pour agents and resources into identifying and prosecuting medical professionals illegally distributing prescriptions for deadly and addictive drugs.

"I had no problem signing these indictments, and there's more to come," Dunavant said. 

Further, Dunavant confirmed, medical professionals who are found to have contributed to an individual's overdose death by way of fraudulent opioid prescriptions will face further charges. 

Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich instituted a similar prosecution policy recently among more traditional drug dealers under Shelby County's  heroin initiative. 

Weirich warned medical professionals that they would be just as heavily hunted and prosecuted should they decide to peddle opiates for profits from their own patients. 

"When doctors, those that we go to to save our lives, are causing death because of their greed and because of their horrible, horrible judgment ... it's too much to take. We will find you, we're watching you, and we will prosecute you," Weirich said. 

The ARPO operation has 13 districts where multiple agencies are currently embedded. 

Of the 13 districts, West Tennessee yielded the highest number of indictments in the entire operation. 

JACKSON CASE:Tennessee 'Rock Doc' traded opioids and fentanyl patches for sex, feds say

OPIOID CRACKDOWN:What Tennessee doctors were charged? We've got a list.

The Commercial Appeal is reviewing federal documents and will update this story with additional information.