Greensburg physician pleads guilty to unlawful prescribing, money laundering

A Greensburg physician pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to unlawfully dispensing buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone or Subutex.

Nabil Jabbour, 68, of Hempfield, also pleaded guilty to health care fraud and money laundering, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady.

Jabbour operated clinics on Harvey Avenue in Greensburg and East Crawford Avenue in Connellsville. His medical license is on probation, according to state records.

At his plea hearing, Jabbour admitted to unlawfully prescribing buprenorphine to undercover police officers three times between July and December 2016 and on 14 other occasions, Brady said. The officers paid Jabbour in cash — ranging from $80 to $100 per visit — and he submitted false claims through Medicare and Medicaid for the unlawful prescriptions.

Brady said Jabbour admitted he was responsible for distributing between 10,000 and 20,000 doses of fraudulent buprenorphine prescriptions, resulting in about $40,000 worth of losses for Medicare and Medicaid.

Buprenorphine is used to treat opioid addictions through medication-assisted treatment, which should be combined with counseling and other therapy.

Jabbour pleaded guilty to using money he earned from illegally distributing buprenorphine to gamble at Meadows Casino in Washington County. The September 2018 indictment details five occasions between July 2015 and July 2016 in which Jabbour allegedly made more than $61,000 in transactions at the casino.

He will be sentenced March 2.

Five people were arrested by state police in February in connection with Jabbour’s scheme — the office manager and four patients who allegedly permitted her to use their identities in the scheme.