Feds Add Gun Charges In Casper Doctor Prescription Drug Conspiracy
Federal prosecutors have charged a Casper doctor and his brother with firearms crimes in an indictment that supplants a previous one about a multi-state prescription drug conspiracy, according to court records.
Dr. Shakeel Kahn is now charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of a federal drug trafficking crime, according to the superceding indictment filed by the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office in Wyoming U.S. District Court on May 19.
Nabeel Aziz "Sonny" Khan (last name sometimes spelled "Kahn"), Shakeel Kahn's brother, is a new defendant and is charged with using, carrying and brandishing a gun during a federal drug trafficking crime.
If convicted of any other charges against them, the firearms charges trigger an automatic five-year consecutive prison term for Shakeel Kahn, and an automatic seven-year consecutive prison term for Nabeel Khan.
Because it was a new indictment, the defendants -- Shakeel Kahn, Nabeel Khan, Lyn Kahn (Shakeel's wife), and Paul Beland -- were required to hear the charges during initial appearances in federal court in the past week.
Lyn Kahn was not charged with any new counts, and she is free on bond. Shakeel Kahn and Beland remain in custody.
Nabeel Khan was arrested in Arizona on April 18. He was transferred to Wyoming where he was charged with the conspiracy count and the firearms count.
Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly Rankin ordered Khan to be detained because the safety of the community could not be guaranteed if he was released, a potentially lengthy sentence if convicted, his lack of stable employment and residence, lack of family ties, and lack of legal status in the United States, according to minutes of the hearing.
The complex case started in Wyoming more than a year ago when the Wyoming State Board of Pharmacy asked the DEA to investigate Kahn, who was issuing large prescriptions for controlled substances under two DEA licenses in Arizona and Wyoming. The Arizona and Wyoming boards of medicine subsequently suspended Kahn's medical licenses for prescribing controlled substances outside the standard of care.
Shakeel and Lyn Kahn were arrested at their house on Thorndike Avenue in Casper on Nov. 30, and initially charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.
On Jan. 13, the Kahns and Beland were indicted on 20 counts including conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and alprazolam (the generic form of Xanax); dispensing of oxycodone; possession with intent to distribute oxycodone and aid and abet; unlawful use of a communication facility; dispensing of oxycodone and aid and abet; and engaging in monetary transactions derived from criminal activity.
If convicted on all counts, they face up to 20 years imprisonment. Shakeel Kahn also was charged with running a prescription drug criminal enterprise. If convicted on that count alone, he faces between 20 years and life imprisonment.
Shakeel and Lyn Kahn dealt with customers who paid them $500 in cash for a prescription. Customers often would resell the drugs.
"It was further part of the conspiracy that S. Kahn and N. Kahn possessed, carried, and brandished firearms at the medical office, during medical office hours and other times," the superceding indictment said.