An Amherst doctor will spend two years behind bars.
According to the District Attorney's Office, Dr. Albert R. Cowie, 38, was convicted of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and health care fraud and was sentenced on Thursday.
“The purpose in publicizing today’s sentencing is not to try to shame or embarrass anyone, including Dr. Cowie, who unlawfully uses or distributes this poison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “Rather, the purpose is to remind everyone—no matter who you are, whether you are a doctor or a derelict—that each of us will eventually be held accountable for the choices we make. Some, those that we catch, must answer in the criminal justice system. Sadly, many that we don’t catch, must answer with their lives. So my message today is that this Office will continue—with our law enforcement partners—aggressively to enforce the drug laws. We are not going to go away. Lives are at stake. If you are using these drugs—no matter who you are—then you need to get help, because if you don’t, you will end up either dead or, if you’re lucky, in jail.”
Investigators say that between January of 2010 and March of 2014, Cowie wrote more than 200 illegal prescriptions for powerful painkillers including Oxycodone and Hydrocodone.
