FRANKFORT, KY (Thursday, February 13, 2025) – A Harrison County doctor, Michael Gainey, 70, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, before U.S. District Judge Gregory VanTatenhove to the seven counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.
According to his plea agreement, Gainey practiced as a family medicine specialist in Harrison County. In that role, Gainey treated and prescribed controlled substances to a number of patients with whom he maintained personal relationships. Gainey knew and intended that the prescriptions he issued to these patients were outside the scope of legitimate medical practice, in part because of the ongoing relationships he maintained with these patients and because Gainey relaxed applicable prescribing standards for these patients. Gainey’s plea agreement lists seven patients that he had ongoing relationships with during the course of his conduct. For each of the patients, he wrote dozens of prescriptions for hydrocodone, oxycodone, gabapentin, and other controlled substances.
Paul C. McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Boone is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Gainey is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each of the seven counts and a fine of $1 million. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
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