CLARKSBURG — A West Virginia doctor has been indicted for the unlawful distribution of controlled substances and for destroying evidence of his alleged crimes.
David Elwood Hess, 59, of Bridgeport, was indicted Tuesday on 25 counts of improper prescribing and one count of destroying records in a federal investigation. According to court documents, Hess wrote prescriptions for Adderall, Xanax, Oxycontin and other controlled substances to individuals without a legitimate medical purpose and beyond the bounds of professional practice. The indictment also charges Hess with remotely wiping his iPhone after it had been seized by law enforcement.
A WVU spokesperson clarified the doctor charged is not Dr. David Hess associated with WVU Medicine.
“WVU Medicine would like to clarify that the Dr. David Hess of Bridgeport who was ‘indicted for the unlawful distribution of controlled substances and for destroying evidence of his alleged crimes,’ according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of West Virginia, is David Elwood Hess. The president and CEO of WVU Medicine United Hospital Center in Bridgeport is Dr. David Frederick Hess. The two are not related,” the spokesperson noted in a statement.
United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld said the unlawful use of Adderall is no light matter.
“Adderall is the chemical cousin of methamphetamine and a very powerful stimulant,” he said. “Given its high potential for misuse, medical practitioners must be cautious when prescribing it and when they are not, there will be consequences.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
