COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A former doctor whose Tabor City medical office was raided by law enforcement officers in 2018 will spend six and a half years in prison for unlawfully distributing Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Marijuana.
According to the US Department of Justice, in March of 2017, Jong Whan Kim was forced to resign from the medical practice where he was previously employed due to concerns over his prescribing practices, particularly opioids. Kim proceeded to establish his own clinic in Tabor City and from October 2017 to June 28, 2018, Kim unlawfully and improperly prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to “patients” who paid $200 cash at each appointment.
The investigation revealed that Kim wrote controlled substance prescriptions to virtually every patient he saw, often despite not having a patient’s prior medical records, not conducting a real physical examination or considering alternative treatments, and often despite having evidence of patient misuse and diversion.
Word of Kim’s willingness to improperly prescribe controlled substances spread quickly and people came from across Eastern North Carolina, and even other states to get prescriptions from Kim. The volume of patients and associated activity that often took place in the parking lot of Kim’s clinic created safety concerns for the adjacent Tabor City Elementary School, which was forced to restrict outdoor activities for students until a privacy fence was constructed.
In January 2018, a confidential source began conducting a series of controlled purchases from Kim and Thompson, which were audio and video recorded. On June 29, 2018, search warrants were executed at Kim’s clinic and residence and Kim and his office manager Tammy Thompson were arrested. A medical expert who reviewed Kim’s records found no evidence that Kim was providing real medical care and concluded that Kim was merely exchanging prescriptions for money.
“The defendant abused his position as a doctor to illegally distribute opioids, jeopardizing the safety of the community and the school adjacent to his office,” said Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “My office will continue to collaborate with law enforcement at all levels to dismantle criminal organizations that are contributing to the drug problems in eastern North Carolina.”
On December 28, 2021, Kim pled guilty to Conspiracy to Unlawfully Distribute a Quantity of Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Marijuana, multiple counts of Unlawful Dispensation and Distribution of Oxycodone and Distribution of Marijuana and Aiding and Abetting. Kim was also required to surrender all medical licenses and is prohibited from ever practicing medicine again.
Thompson pled guilty to multiple counts and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
“When Dr. Kim dispensed nearly 2 million doses of addictive prescription medications under the guise of a doctor’s care, it was not about the good of the community or an individual’s specific health needs – it was about his selfishness and greed,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “DEA and its law enforcement partners will continue to stem the tide against the growing opioid epidemic. Dr. Kim will now serve a lengthy sentence in federal prison.”