UPDATE: Wyoming Feds Charge Kahns With Oxycodone Conspiracy; They’re Out On Bond
A Casper doctor and his wife who were arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in at least five states are now free on bond.
Dr. Shakeel Kahn and Lyn Kahn heard the single counts during their initial appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl in Casper on Friday morning.
If convicted, they each face up to 20 years imprisonment and a $1 million fine. They also could be placed on three years to lifetime probation.
Friday afternoon, Skavdahl agreed with an assistant U.S. attorney to release them, but with strict conditions.
The judge imposed these and other conditions on Shakeel Kahn:
- Surrender the right to write prescriptions in any state.
- Pledge his residence in Fort Mohave, Ariz., as bond. "There is probable cause to believe that this property is an asset traceable to proceeds of Kahn's illegal distribution activity, as well as property involved in money laundering."
- Surrender his passport. Kahn has relatives including his father in Canada.
- Not possess firearms or explosives. Federal agents seized nearly 50 firearms when they executed search warrants on his properties in Arizona. (They also seized $1,048,000 in cash, a 2014 Shelby Mustang costing $74,000 and a 2016 Corvette costing $93,000.)
- Not practice medicine. His licenses have been suspended in Wyoming and Arizona.
- Not leave Wyoming, and live at their residence in the 2100 block of Thorndike Avenue. This house is owned by Kahn's company Medicorp, Inc., which is registered to do business in Arizona but not in Wyoming.
- Have no contact with witnesses including current and former patients.
- Avoid discussing the case with his wife.
- Hold a job for at least 35 hours a week.
- Wear an ankle-monitoring device, paid for by Kahn.
Skavdahl asked Kahn if he understood the terms of his release.
"I will abide by the court ruling," Kahn said. "I've had enough detention for a lifetime, your honor."
Skavdahl set many of the same conditions for Lyn Kahn. She also must post a $20,000 bond.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Sprecher, who recommended many of the release conditions, added the federal government will be intercepting the Kahns' phone calls. The information from those intercepts will be sealed by the court, she added.
On Wednesday, Casper police officers and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested the Kahns at their residence in the 2100 block of Thorndike Avenue. They previously executed search warrants on this house, his office at 310 S. Fenway, and their business Vape World at 2111 E. 12th St., on Nov. 15.
The case started in April 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.
Many of the people who obtained prescriptions from Kahn paid him $500 per prescription, according to court documents.
A review of Kahn’s prescription profile showed he was filling prescriptions for unusually high amounts of controlled substances in Wyoming, Arizona, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Washington, according to an affidavit filed in federal court by a DEA agent.