Two doctors, a medical clinic operator and a patient recruiter are charged with conspiring to illegally distribute prescription opioids, federal authorities announced on Thursday, Aug. 14.
The unsealed indictment alleges that Dr. Shakeeb Chinoy, 55, of Bloomfield Hills; Dr. Sunil Manjila-Varghese, 53, of Ann Arbor; Rommel Harvey, 43, of Detroit; and Gregory Sparks, 42, of Detroit issued thousands of opioid prescriptions to people who did not have legitimate medical needs from November 2023 through June 2025.
The four men were indicted Aug. 6, with the indictment unsealed on Thursday, Aug. 14, according to U.S. District Court records in Detroit.
The alleged conspiracy involved oxycodone, oxycodone-acetaminophen (Percocet), hydrocodone-acetaminophen (Norco), oxymorphone, and promethazine with codeine. According to the indictment, Chinoy and Manjila-Varghese are accused of issuing more than 400,000 dosage units of Schedule II opioids with a conservative street value exceeding $7 million.
Medicare and Medicaid were also allegedly billed for more than $1 million in medically unnecessary prescriptions and maintenance medications, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said.
“Doctors take an oath to do no harm and to care for others,” said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. in a statement. “These doctors and professionals broke that oath to fill their pockets and used their respected positions of trust to push addictive opioids. They are drug dealers in white coats.”
Chinoy was temporarily detained during an initial appearance in federal court on Aug. 14; a detention hearing is set for Aug. 18, according to court records. Manjila-Varghese, Harvey and Sparks were released on $10,000 unsecured bonds during initial appearances and arraignments in federal court, also on Aug. 14. Not guilty pleas were entered for all three.
Matt Monahan of the Federal Community Defender Office in Detroit represents all four defendants. He declined to comment when contacted by the Free Press.
The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Andrew J. Lievense and Darrin Crawford. It was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2 Michigan doctors, 2 employees charged in $7M opioid distribution conspiracy
Reporting by Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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