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A Havertown doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to charges that he imported foreign, non-FDA approved injectable medications, then falsely billed health care benefit programs for approximately $2.3 million.

Rheumatologist Dr. Thomas J. Whalen, 65, pleaded to a criminal information charging him with one count of health care fraud, one count of importation contrary to law and two counts of distribution of a controlled substance for unlawfully distributing oxycodone to patients actively using illicit drugs, according to a release from U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain.

“When health care professionals import unsafe, untested prescription drugs from outside the drug supply chain that the FDA oversees, the American public health and trust are jeopardized,” said Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office in a release.

McSwain added that his office is committed to “stopping criminals in the medical profession from stealing from public programs, threatening the safety of patients, and pushing illegal pills onto the streets.”

Whalen owned and operated Whalen Rheumatology Group with locations in Havertown, Exton and Wilmington, according to the release. His practice included using expensive live cell medications like Remicade Synvisc and Boniva that were administrated by injection and infusion, the release says.

Rather than purchase pricey FDA-approved versions of the medicines from authorized distributors, Whalen bought cheaper, non-FDA approved versions and used them on his unsuspecting patients, according to the release. He then billed federal health care programs as though he had used the FDA-approved versions of the medicines, pocketing approximately $1.1 million in illicit proceeds.

“Dr. Whalen placed the health of countless patients at risk by administering non-FDA approved drugs,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Such medications are not paid for by Medicare due to the risk they may pose to patient health.”

The information also identifies two patients who received oxycodone prescriptions from Whalen despite multiple drug screening results that showed they were simultaneously abusing cocaine and heroin, according to the release.

“Doctors have a professional and moral obligation to treat patients that are struggling with substance use disorder – not enable it,” said Jonathan A. Wilson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division.

Whalen, represented by Philadelphia attorney William Brennan, was released on his own recognizance with a $50,000 bond Monday, according to court records. He faces up to 70 years’ imprisonment, a $2.5 million fine, three years of supervised release and a $400 mandatory special assessment at sentencing, set for April 1 before U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage.

Debra Jaroslawicz of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Koob are prosecuting.