Woodlands doctor tied to deadly crash facing additional charges

Dr. Rezik Saqer was arrested Tuesday night, Sept. 22, 2015, in connection with a car crash near Lake Conroe that left four members of a family dead. 68-year-old Roland Cooper was charged with four counts of intoxicated manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault following the three-vehicle wreck. less Dr. Rezik Saqer was arrested Tuesday night, Sept. 22, 2015, in connection with a car crash near Lake Conroe that left four members of a family dead. 68-year-old Roland Cooper was charged with four counts of ... more Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Woodlands doctor tied to deadly crash facing additional charges 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The Woodlands doctor arrested in connection with a crash that killed a family of four in Conroe is facing additional felony charges.

Montgomery County prosecutors claim Dr. Rezik Saqer, 62, committed fraud and theft by submitting false claims to insurance companies for almost five years. Saqer also unlawfully distributed and delivered drugs "in a manner inconsistent with public health," according to an indictment.

Montgomery County grand jurors indicted Saqer on the first-degree felony engaging in organized criminal activity charge Nov. 22, more than a year after a fatal car crash took the lives of the Sedlmeier family on Texas 105.

Investigators believe Saqer supplied a controlled substance to then-68-year-old Ronald Cooper, who allegedly crashed into and killed Roland Sedlmeier, 49, wife Melinda, 42, and their children, Harley, 6, and Sofie Sedlmeier, 4, while high on the drugs. Two other teenagers in another car were injured in the Sept. 20, 2015, crash.

Saqer faces up to life in prison for the first-degree felony charge. And although the allegation Saqer engaged in organized criminal activity is moving forward, he still has to answer for a slew of other felony charges already filed against him.

Those include three second-degree felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, three state-jail felony counts of diversion of controlled substances and four state-jail felony counts of fraudulent possession of a controlled substance or prescription form.

"Nothing's been dropped at this point," said Assistant District Attorney Joel Daniels, adding that the most recent engaging charges will be the "operative indictment."

Saqer's other felony charges stem from a search of Integra Medical Clinic and Integra Pharmacy in The Woodlands. According to documents obtained by The Courier in September 2015, investigators found 211 hydromorphone pills, 61 oxycodone pills and 46 morphine pills in Saqer's personal desk drawer at the clinic.

"A doctor cannot possess a controlled substance without a prescription just like anyone else," Montgomery County District Attorney's Office Chief Prosecutor Tyler Dunman said during a press conference in 2015. "Because of his employment as a doctor, he's committing what we call fraud, basically diverting the prescription medication for either his own personal use or for some other use without a prescription."

Diversion of a controlled substance is a state jail felony if it is for personal use and a third-degree felony if the drugs are distributed to another person. Saqer was charged with the lesser felony. During the execution of a search warrant, investigators said they found blank prescription pads with Saqer's signature on them.

The Texas Medical Board has since suspended Saqer's practitioner license. He will be in Judge Kathleen Hamilton's 359th state District Court in the next few days to be arraigned on the new charge, Daniels said.

Daniels declined to comment on whether anyone else will be charged in the case. Saqer's attorney George Secrest was unable to be reached Monday.

Cooper is facing four counts of intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault, all second-degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison each. He will be in Hamilton's court Dec. 6 for a status conference before his Jan. 23, 2017, trial date.