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The owner of Meghnot Comprehensive Center, 2488 Golfside Road in Pittsfield Township, has been arrested by federal agents and charged with orchestrating a scheme to illegally distribute prescription pills. Four others also face charges.

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

The owner of a Pittsfield Township pain management clinic has been arrested by federal agents and charged with orchestrating a scheme to illegally distribute prescription pills.

FBI agents working in conjunction with U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade executed a search warrant Wednesday at the Meghnot Comprehensive Center for Hope on Golfside Drive just north of Washtenaw Avenue.

The agents arrested owner Lillian "Bubbie" Meghnot as well as her office manager Gerardo "Jerry" Alcala-Rivera and physician Dr. Anthony Conrardy. McQuade's indictment also charges former clinic physicians Dr. William McCutchen III and Dr. Sharadchandra Patel.

The 17-count indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to unlawfully prescribe controlled substances at the clinic. The practices are alleged to have begun in September 2011 and continued through March 2015.

According to a release, the indictment alleges Meghnot hired staff and recruited doctors for the express purpose of prescribing controlled substances--including oxycodone--outside the scope of normal medical practice. Each of the doctors at the clinic, located at 2488 Golfside Road, were charged with prescribing hundreds of thousands of dosage units to "purported 'pain patients'" who had no medical necessity for the drugs, according to the indictment.

"The indictment further alleges that the Meghnot Clinic refused to take any medical insurance from its patients and instead charged $250 in cash per visit regardless of the amount of time spent with the doctor or the purpose of the consultation," the release states.

The indictments came as a result of cooperation between the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Attorney's Office for Eastern Michigan. According to the release, conviction on charges of unlawful prescription drug distribution conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The case will be prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kalil.

Editor's note: This article has been changed to reflect that the arrests occurred Wednesday.

Ben Freed is a general assignments reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at benfreed@mlive.com and follow him on twitter at @BFreedinA2. He also answers the phone at 734-623-2528.