Local Doctor, Nurse Practitioner Charged In Opioid Investigation

Unsealed federal indictments charged a Smith County doctor and Cookeville nurse practitioner Wednesday for healthcare fraud schemes and illegally prescribing and dispensing opioids.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Middle Tennessee announced 64-year-old Dr. Bowdoin Smith of Carthage as one of several medical professionals indicted across Tennessee.

Smith faces two counts of distributing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose.

Indictments state Smith prescribed opioids to patients in 2012 for longer than necessary, resulting in his medical license being placed on probation. The State lifted the probation in 2015 as Smith resumed opioid prescription until indictments were handed down in February.

37-year-old Cookeville Nurse Practitioner Brian Richey was also indicted on three counts of healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Indictments indicate Richey and two nurse practitioners allegedly offered injection treatments to patients that were not medically necessary while working in Franklin.

Richey pleaded guilty last month on several charges in connection with fraud and allegedly stealing prescriptions from Senior Lifestyles residents in Cookeville with former owner Stephanie Peterson (formerly Stephanie Butler).

The Indictments are part of a six-state investigation by the Appalachian Region Prescription Opioid Strike Force.