Texas Man Sentenced To 9 Years For Role In Oregon Pill Mill

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Texas man who helped run an illegal pill mill in Portland, Oregon, recruiting customers from Narcotics Anonymous meetings and others from a homeless shelter, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports 56-year-old Osasuyi Idumwonyi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute or dispense Oxycodone and was sentenced Monday.

Idumwonyi and nurse practitioner Julie DeMille opened the Fusion Wellness Clinic in January 2015. Both were arrested in July 2016.

Prosecutors say the clinic had no business bank account and didn’t report wages to authorities.

Prosecutors say Idumwonyi commuted from Houston to assist DeMille in running the Portland clinic. DeMille was sentenced in March to four years in prison.

Idumwonyi said in court he could have used “better judgment,” saying he was led astray by a desire to help a former girlfriend who was addicted.