(Atlanta, GA: January 22, 2016) Dr. Narendra Nagareddy, an Indian American psychiatrist in Jonesboro, Ga., has been accused of overprescribing opiates and benzodiazepine over a period of several years, a report by Clayton County police chief Mike Register, who told WSB-TV that Dr. Narendra Nagareddy overprescribed the pills which in turn led to the deaths of dozens of patients. “The guy may call himself a doctor, but if the allegations are true, I call him a drug dealer,” Register told WSB-TV.
According to reports, more than 40 law enforcement officials from several agencies converged on Nagareddy’s office Jan. 14 to arrest the psychiatrist and search his office. Police also had searched Nagareddy’s home as part of the raid. Legal documents state, 36 of his patients have died, 12 of them confirmed to have been the result of prescription drug overdoses.
Nagareddy has been charged with prescribing pain medication outside of his profession and not for a legitimate use, according to the county’s district attorney Tracy Graham Lawson. Aside from the criminal charges, the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office has also filed a RICO civil action to seize Nagareddy’s assets.
As per reports, throughout his 15 years practicing medicine, Nagareddy has had no ethical complaints filed against him. The doctor, though it is uncertain if he has hired an attorney, was released on bail Jan. 18, according to police.