Date: November 1, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Pittsburgh, PA — A former physician has been sentenced in federal court to one day of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, including 15 months home confinement and 300 hours community service, on his conviction of drug diversion, health care fraud and money laundering, associated with his suburban Pittsburgh holistic medical practice, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today. Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke of Allison Park, Pennsylvania. According to information presented to the court, Zielke owned and operated Medical Frontiers, LLC, a purported pain management practice, located in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. On or about October 3, 2017, May 25, 2017, October 3, 2017, and December 17, 2014, Zielke knowingly dispensed and distributed Schedule II drugs, including Oxycodone, Methadone, Hydrocodone and Oxymorphone, to four patients outside the course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Zielke committed health care fraud by causing fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicaid for payments to cover the costs of the unlawfully prescribed drugs. Finally, Zielke violated federal money laundering statutes when he caused approximately $150,000 in proceeds obtained through his illegal drug distribution to be wired from a bank account to Kitco Metals, Inc., in Canada to purchase silver and collector coins. In addition to the criminal penalties, Zielke agreed to forfeit $75,359 in U.S. currency and an unvalued amount of gold coins and bullion. Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Summer F. Carroll prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. The investigation leading to the filing of charges in this case was conducted by the Western Pennsylvania Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit (OFADU). The Western Pennsylvania OFADU, led by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office, combines the expertise and resources of federal and state law enforcement to address the role played by unethical medical professionals in the opioid epidemic. The agencies which comprise the Western Pennsylvania OFADU include: Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Bureau of Narcotic Investigations, United States Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Attorney's Office – Criminal Division, Civil Division and Asset Forfeiture Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs-Office of Inspector General, Food and Drug Administration-Office of Criminal Investigations, U.S. Office of Personnel Management – Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Bureau of Licensing.
