BEAVER, Pa. — Authorities have charged a Beaver County doctor with writing thousands of illegal opiate prescriptions.
Dr. Paul Hoover, a pain specialist who has been practicing for 28 years, has offices in Coraopolis and Beaver.
A just-unsealed federal grand jury indictment says Hoover wrote scripts for more than 80,000 pills – including fentanyl, methadone and oxycodone – over a three-year period.
Federal officials tell Channel 11 that Hoover has been living in California for years and flies back here once a month and sets up shop on a Saturday, writing pain prescriptions all day for cash.
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They say from March 2015 to June 2018, he wrote prescriptions for more than 82,000 pills, taking only cash for office visits.
The grand jury indicted him on drug delivery charges late last month, and a few days ago the State Board of Medicine filed paperwork stating Hoover Is an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety. His license is temporarily suspended and he must surrender his medical credentials.
The indictment alleges Hoover had an accomplice: his office manager, who is facing similar charges.
Both were arrested and are due in court here next week.