Date: August 26, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Pittsburgh, PA — A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court for unlawfully prescribing and distributing controlled substances, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today. United States District Judge David S. Cercone, sentenced Thomas Ranieri, to two years of supervised release, with the first year served as home detention. During his plea hearing on August 21, 2019, the defendant admitted that he previously was a physician who practiced as an anesthesiologist and pain-management specialist in clinics located in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and multiple locations in Ohio. From January 2, 2013, to June 26, 2013, the defendant prescribed and distributed quantities of Schedule II controlled substances (i.e., oxycodone, fentanyl, and Opana ER) outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. In total, the defendant pled guilty to fourteen distribution counts associated with his dispensing of approximately 1,100 doses of narcotics. Assistant United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. The Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Section conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Ranieri.
