Federal agents raid Puget Sound doctor's office ("candy man" says it's all because he's black)

KING-TV (Seattle) ^ | January 16, 2009 | Chris Ingalls

[Stoat]

(edit)

Federal agents raided Johnson's four offices and his home Wednesday and carried off hundreds of boxes, including the charts for the clinic's 6,000 patients. They want to know more about his billing practices and the prescriptions he writes.

"I may not appear shocked," Johnson said. "I was shocked then, but for me it's just another in a series of what I view as harassment."

A 52-page search warrant unsealed late Friday says patients knew Johnson as "candy man," an easy touch for drug seeking addicts. He rarely examined his patients, according to several former employees and patients. And he's accused of Medicaid and Medicare billing fraud.

"I'm just here to say the information they provided to the court was founded on misinformation, hearsay and opinion," Johnson said.

(edit)

But Johnson has had many clashes with the medical community. His privileges were revoked when he was accused of over-prescribing and patient abandonment at Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

A judge dismissed two discrimination claims Johnson filed against Grays Harbor and another hospital.

KING 5 News reporter Chris Ingalls asked Johnson: "Why are all these agencies and people doing this to you?"

Johnson said: "Look at me. I'm black. I believe they're doing this because I'm a young successful black man."

(edit)

[Gondring]

I’m wondering if the distribution is bimodal. Some like him cuz he helped their chronic pain. The one whose spouse died of an overdose (and alleges Dr. Johnson had on 12-14 different meds simultaneously) probably would grade low.

And totally zoned out druggies probably didn’t log in.

[denydenydeny]

Almost without exception playing the race card is a full admission of guilt.

It means you have no exonerating evidence of any kind.

[Gondring]

And if the pun was intentional... LOL

[Stoat]

When I was a PreMed at Univ of Colo there was a young man at my Org Chem bench who was never prepared, never understood, and never made above a “C”. I was shocked to hear him announce one day a full 6 weeks before the match that he had been accepted at CU Med. I asked him how that could be as I knew it was 6 weeks too soon to know this and he answered “My mother was Indian (Native American).” I was in the top 10 of 2,000 in Org Chem and I didn't get accepted at CU and had to go to Med School out of state. I hope his patients are doing well...

I'm very sorry to hear not only of the injustice that was inflicted upon you but of what was done to the public as a result of the idiot you reference being not only accepted but catapulted forward in the industry. 

Because you had to pay out of state tuition, you most likely had to pay 3- 5X or more for your education than this other person did and so you may have had student loans hanging over your head for many, many years.  I'm truly sad that this has happened to you and so many other excellent people.  "Affirmative action" has destroyed the lives and dreams of untold multitudes....I recall a news item from a few years ago where a young lady who was a straight-A student throughout High School as well as in her college prerequisites was denied entrance to the University of Washington Medical School because she was white....the fact that she was female wasn't 'enough' of an affirmative action boost to get her in.  She brought a lawsuit against the school but I believe that she lost that as well.   I've also been personally acquainted with about five Seattle Police officers who simply got sick and tired of year after year taking the Sergeant's exam and scoring at or very, very near the top but being passed over by minority officers, often from FAR down the list.  These fine officers all eventually gave up and took early retirement when they could, or just became disgusted and took second jobs.  I've seen and experienced it firsthand over the course of decades in the fire service as well.

I've often wondered how many people have died or have been needlessly harmed by lousy doctors being allowed to practice or incapable police or firefighters who weren't up to the job, as I'm sure you have as well.  "Affirmative action" is truly a cancer, and it's now metastasized  into the White House.

May God Help us all.

"sigh"

 

[sionnsar]

Thanks to Stoat for the ping.

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[justiceseeker93]

I doubt that “racism” pertains here, but there is a big problem in medical practice in general with abusive government raids on doctors’ offices and clinics, sometimes based on nothing but rumor and innuendo, and oftentimes unnecessarily disruptive. I can think of more productive places for government agents to raid if they want to put a dent in illicit drug trafficking, but the agents would likely meet a heck of a lot more restance in those other locations.

[dcwusmc]

Agreed, which is why they would do it... if you go after a major trafficker, you run the risk of getting shot. So why not target doctors and clinics? It’ll boost your stats AND you don’t need to worry that the doc has armed henchmen to pull triggers on your sorry butt.

One more reason to end the war on (some) drugs and restore our Constitution.