North Carolina Doctor Sentenced for Illegally Renting Out DEA Credentials

ROANOKE, Va. – Wendell Lewis Randall, a 71-year-old doctor from Millers Creek, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison this week for his involvement in a conspiracy related to illegal prescription practices. Randall, who was associated with several pain clinics across Virginia under L5 Medical Holdings, also known as the Pain Care Center, was found guilty of conspiring to use a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number not his own for dispensing controlled substances. In addition to his prison sentence, Randall has been ordered to pay $205,000 in fines and forfeiture.

Between 2017 and 2020, Randall operated his own medical practice in North Carolina while being nominally assigned to a pain clinic in Woodlawn, Virginia. Despite his official assignments, Randall was rarely present at the clinics, choosing instead to allow unqualified medical personnel to use his DEA registration number to prescribe Suboxone—a medication used to treat opioid dependence—in his absence, without having seen the patients.

Evidence presented in court, including text messages, indicated that Randall was compensated by L5 for the use of his DEA registration number, fully aware that his arrangement was illegal. Moreover, Randall ignored warnings from colleagues regarding his improper prescribing practices for Schedule II opioids, receiving over $300,000 for renting out his credentials and for the supposed supervision of nurses.

Randall’s sentencing marks the third conviction in connection to the operation of L5’s pain clinics in western Virginia, with Charles Wilson Adams, Jr. and former nurse practitioner Debra Kay Shaffer having previously faced penalties for their roles. Three other defendants, including L5 owner Greg Barnes and former doctor Duane Dixon, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. In contrast, a seventh defendant faces trial on charges of drug conspiracy, health care fraud, wire fraud, and making false statements.

The DEA investigated the case, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the Virginia State Police, and the Virginia Attorney General’s Office – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, along with officials from the DEA, HHS-OIG, and the Virginia State Police, announced the sentencing. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys S. Cagle Juhan, Jason M. Scheff, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Janine M. Myatt, with assistance from the Virginia Attorney General’s Office.