A Kentucky doctor faces up to three years in prison after admitting to selling patients an unapproved weight-loss drug.
According to court records, Matthew Tyler Lewis, 44, pleaded guilty on Monday to a federal charge of receiving a misbranded drug and selling it with the intent to defraud or mislead.
Lewis owns Lewis Family Care in Ashland.
According to his plea, he purchased semaglutide from businesses in California and Georgia that were not authorized to distribute the drug for human use, and the product they provided was not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Semaglutide is found in the brand-name drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus, which are used to treat diabetes but have also helped patients lose weight, as well as Wegovy, a drug that has gained popularity as an obesity treatment.
Labels on semaglutide vials. According to Lewis’s plea, it was intended for research purposes rather than human use.
The labels lacked adequate administration instructions, an expiration date, and a list of active and inactive ingredients.
According to the plea agreement, Lewis took steps to conceal the drug’s sources, labeling payments to one supplier as “meal prep,” for example.
According to the plea, Lewis kept paper files on his weight-loss patients and electronic files on his other patients.
According to court documents, the clinic earned $294,044 in semaglutide injections between May 21, 2023 and February 29, 2024.
Lewis agreed to pay that amount to the government as part of his plea deal.
“Prescription drugs are heavily regulated in this country to keep patients safe,” acting US Attorney Paul McCaffrey stated in a news release. “At a time of increased public interest in weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, Lewis chose profit margins over patient safety when he purchased non-FDA approved semaglutide and administered it to his patients.”
Chief U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning scheduled Lewis’s sentencing for August.
