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Dr. Ljudmil Kljusev was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford, said U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly.
Kljusev also faces three years of supervised release after his federal prison term and was ordered to pay a $17,500 fine. He also must forfeit:
- a property located at 227 Naugatuck Ave. in Milford, where his psychiatry practice was based;
- $173,095.20 in cash seized from his office on the day of his arrest; and
- $117,431.13 from his business checking account.
He was also ordered to pay restitution in the total amount of $31,081.05 to two victim health insurers.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Kljusev was a high-volume prescriber of Adderall and Xanax to his patients, many of whom paid for office visits and prescriptions in cash.
Adderall contains a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, both of which are stimulants. It is used to treat narcolepsy and ADHD. Xanax contains Alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety disorders or panic disorders.
The investigation, which included the use of confidential witnesses and an undercover officer posing as patients, found that Kljusev prescribed the drugs without full medical examinations of patients, provided prescriptions without confirming conditions that would medically require the treatment and dispensed prescriptions for cash to patients who displayed substance abuse and addiction behaviors.
He also directed non-physician employees to write prescriptions signed by him when he was out of the country.
In 2014 and 2015, Kljusev improperly billed private health insurers about $76,983 for medical services rendered when he was out of the country.
He has been detained since his arrest Nov. 12, 2015. On Nov. 30, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute narcotics and one count of health care fraud.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA’s New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, FBI and Milford Police Department. The DEA Tactical Diversion Squad includes officers from the Bristol, Greenwich, Hamden, Milford, New Haven, Shelton, Vernon and Wilton Police Departments.
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