Former Battle Creek doctor Shekhar Thakur has agreed to pay $705,075 to resolve a lawsuit brought by the US Attorney’s Office alleging that he violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Thakur previously owned and practiced at Parkside Medical in Battle Creek, Michigan. On July 9, 2024, the US Attorney’s Office sued Thakur for, among other things, regularly prescribing opioids and other controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. For example, the federal lawsuit alleged that Thakur routinely prescribed highly addictive and dangerous controlled substances, often Schedule II opioids, without objectively verifying the patient’s reported ailment through physical examination, medical records, and/or testing. The United States also alleged that Thakur issued prescriptions despite numerous indications that the patients were abusing or diverting substances, including failed urine drug screens showing that patients were taking illicit drugs, or not taking the medications he prescribed. In addition, the United States alleged that Thakur prescribed dangerous combinations of controlled substances, including opioids and benzodiazepines.
Thakur agreed to pay the over $700,000 settlement in exchange for the government’s agreement to dismiss the case and not prove his conduct in a trial. He did not admit responsibility for the conduct alleged, however, during 2022 and 2023 he was stripped of his licenses to practice medicine. In 2020, Thakur voluntarily surrendered his DEA registration, thereby losing his ability to prescribe controlled substances. As part of his settlement with the government, Thakur agreed never to apply for reinstatement of his DEA registration.