Doctor gets 3 years for trading drugs for sex

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A North Carolina doctor has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for giving female patients drugs such as Percocet and Clonazepam in exchange for sex.

The Charlotte Observer reports Michael Alson Smith was sentenced Thursday, having pleaded guilty last year to charges including health care fraud.

Court documents say he traded drugs for sex with at least seven patients in 2017 at the now-closed Mt. Holly Family Practice. They say he also billed Medicaid and Medicare for reimbursement of patient visits that only included sex.

His license to practice was revoked in 2017 after he admitted to having sex with two patients, one of whom didn’t consent.

Smith was also ordered to pay about $3,500 in restitution and serve two years of supervised release after completing his sentence.