Federal grand jury indicts Mansfield doctor, LPN for prescription drug fraud

SHREVEPORT, La. -- A longtime DeSoto Parish physician was indicted Wednesday on prescription drug fraud charges. The indictment accuses Dr. Jeffrey L. Evans, Jr., 65, of Mansfield, along with his nurse, Debra E. Craig, 66, of Converse, of illegally obtaining and distributing controlled substances, U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown said. Evans' tenure as a licensed medical doctor with DeSoto Regional Health System ended in May just as a federal investigation was underway. Evans and Craig are not the first to be caught up in the investigation. Earlier this month, Debra Bossier, 48, also known as Debra Palmer, of Mansfield, a former medical assistant at the hospital, pleaded guilty to forging prescriptions to get pain pills. She'll be sentenced on Feb. 10. Evans is also the elected coroner for DeSoto Parish. The DeSoto Parish Police Jury will hold a special meeting at 4:20 p.m. Thursday to accept Evans' resignation and appoint a replacement. Evans' indictment alleges that beginning on or about Jan. 2, 2014, and continuing until about March 9, he and Craig, who was assigned to work for Evans in his medical office, conspired together and with other persons to obtain hydrocodone and Adderall, both Schedule II controlled substances, by fraud. It is alleged in the indictment that Evans would write prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances to an unnamed person identified as "Individual 1" and to Craig. The prescriptions included hydrocodone-acetaminophen tablets, hydrocodone- homatropine syrup, and According to the indictment, Individual 1 would fill the prescriptions at a Mansfield area pharmacy then provide the Adderrall to Evans, who would split the drugs containing hydrocodone with Individual 1. The indictment further alleges that Craig would fill the prescriptions at a Mansfield pharmacy using the name "Debbie Craig." Evans would provide cash to Craig to pay the pharmacy for the drugs, and after filling the prescriptions Craig would in turn provide them to Evans. It is alleged in nine counts in the indictment that Evans obtained controlled substances by fraud from December 2017 through August 2018. In addition, Evans and Craig are both charged with five counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud between September 2020 and March. Finally, the indictment alleges that Evans distributed controlled substances through prescriptions that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose between February 2018 and August 2018. If convicted, Evans faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted, Craig faces a sentence of up to 4 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and is being prosecuted by Alexander C. Van Hook, special counsel to the U.S. attorney, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Shannon.