Brother of Former Casper Doctor Gets 15 Years for Prescription Drug Conspiracy

CHEYENNE -- Nabeel Kahn, who in May was convicted along with his brother Dr. Shakeel Kahn of Casper for their roles in a multi-state prescription drug conspiracy, was sentenced to more than 15 years imprisonment at the end of a two-hour hearing in federal court on Monday.

"The story that unfolds during the trial is one of incalculable sadness and injury," U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson said before handing down the 181-month sentence.

The patients of Dr. Shakeel Kahn, with the assistance of Nabeel, saw that his medical clinic in Fort Mohave, Ariz., was a front to obtain controlled substances illegally, Johnson said.

Many of the patients did not have jobs, and could only support their habits by selling some of the powerful pain medications on the street to pay the rising prices the Kahns charged, he said.

"They'd be threatened if they didn't get the cash," Johnson said.

The money the prescription drug business raised amounted to millions from the Arizona clinic alone, he added.

Nabeel Kahn, 46, declined to speak. Shakeel Kahn is scheduled to be sentenced Monday afternoon.

Assistant U.S. District Attorney Stephanie Hambrick argued that Johnson should follow the 280-month sentence for the count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and other drugs as recommended in the presentence investigation report. The conviction of possessing a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime is an automatic five-year sentence consecutive to any other sentence.

But Nabeel Kahn's defense attorney Stephanie Bower responded that Nabeel Kahn's role was minimal because he didn't write the prescriptions, Nabeel was just an office manager, he was manipulated by his brother, and he suffers from a variety of serious health issues including diabetes and kidney disease.

Bower said Kahn should receive credit for time served plus the five years for the firearms crime, which would total about 7.5 years.

Johnson agreed to reduce the recommended 280 months to 121 months, so the total sentence is 181 months.

After his release, Nabeel Kahn will be placed on three years supervised probation, Johnson said.

He probably will be deported to Canada, and the terms of his probation include having his property searched, and a clinical mental health evaluation.

But there will be no drug testing, Johnson said. "Ironic, isn't it?"