UPDATE: Local physician pleads guilty to drug charges

A local physician was sentenced to probation and community service for a federal drug charge.

Chad Poage, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of Acquiring or Obtaining Possession of a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception or Subterfuge” in May.

He was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation and 500 hours of community service, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

He was an orthopedic surgeon who practiced in Morgantown and Fairmont. He admitted to writing 30 fraudulent prescriptions between November 2015 and March 2018 for his own use.

“Physicians who breach the trust given them often find themselves on the wrong side of the law," U.S. Attorney Bill Powell said. "Professionals are not immune from the power of addiction. This case provides a sad but powerful commentary on the depth of our opioid crisis. We thank our partners in the Health Care Fraud Unit of the Department of Justice, along with our law enforcement partners for the important work being done in this district."

Local doctor Chad Poage, 35, has pleaded guilty to obtaining controlled substances by writing fraudulent prescriptions.

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of West Virginia says he used colleagues’ DEA numbers and presented stolen driver’s licenses to pick up fraudulently prescribed controlled substances from the Morgantown area pharmacies for his personal use.

Poage pleaded guilty to one count of acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.

Poage was an orthopedic surgeon who worked in a practice with locations in Morgantown and Fairmont, West Virginia and is from Bridgeport.

Poage admitted in court that from November 2015 to March 2018, he wrote 30 fraudulent prescriptions for Tramadol, Diazepam and acetaminophen-codeine no. 3 all for his own use.

A Bridgeport doctor is one of 60 people charged for illegally prescribing and distributing pills, including opioids.

According to a federal indictment, Dr. Chad Poage was charged after allegedly writing himself an illegal prescription for acetaminophen-codeine in March. He is accused of using a false identification and filling it in Morgantown.

According to the indictment, Poage is accused of knowing that there was no medical need for him to take the controlled substance.

Poage is charged with obtaining controlled substances by fraud.