A Texas medical doctor has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars after he unlawfully prescribed an opioid to a patient who later died.

63-year-old Thomas K. Ballard was the owner and operator of the Ballard Clinic in Jackson, Tennessee, a family medicine facility. Officials explain that Ballard prescribed highly addictive controlled substances like hydrocodone “outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.” Court documents also show that Ballard engaged in inappropriate sexual misconduct with some of his female patients all while ignoring visible red flags that they were abusing the medication he prescribed them.

Ballard was sentenced after he admitted guilt to prescribing hydrocodone to several of his female patients. One of those patients later died from an overdose the day after he unlawfully prescribed her hydrocodone.

The Department of Justice explains that according to medical records Ballard kept, he believed the victim suffered from psychiatric issues, that she overutilized medication, and that she was manipulating in the sense that she fabricated her personal trauma. The medical records also showed that the victim had previously been incarcerated and that she received suboxone from a different physician. Suboxone is a drug used to help opioid addicts treat their opioid dependency. Despite knowing her complicated medical history with opioids, Ballard knowingly prescribed the hydrocodone without regard to her wellbeing.

Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration shared of Ballard’s sentencing, “With blatant disregard for the Hippocratic Oath, Ballard endangered his patients’ lives through illegitimate and reckless prescribing.” Milgram adds, “DEA tirelessly pursues the people responsible for flooding our nation with illegal drugs, to include doctors who misuse their positions for personal gain. Those who supply opioids illegally have one thing in common: they demonstrate total disregard for the lives and safety of those who live in our communities. DEA will continue to battle the U.S. opioid epidemic one case at a time, and today’s sentencing demonstrates our commitment to justice.”

On June 23, Ballard pleaded guilty to one count of illegal drug distribution resulting in death.

Ballard is one of 53 medical professionals who were indicted on April 17, 2019, in a federal operation cracking down on medical professionals who unlawfully prescribe opioids. The Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force apprehended the medical professionals after launching their investigation in December 2018. Ballard was one of the 31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurses, and seven other licensed medical professionals arrested.