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Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with a Montgomery Doctor to Illegally Sell Prescription Drugs

From The United States Justice Department

On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, Deandre Varnel Gross, 36, of Converse, Texas, appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to conspiring to unlawfully distribute oxycodone, announced Acting United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. 

According to court documents, Gross conspired with Dr. D’livro Lemat Beauchamp, a Montgomery physician, to unlawfully distribute oxycodone, a Schedule II opioid controlled substance. Specifically, Gross and Beauchamp agreed that Gross would pay Beauchamp for writing prescriptions for medications containing oxycodone, despite there being no medical reason to do so. Pursuant to the arrangement, Beauchamp, who was practicing at Obelisk Healthcare at the time, wrote monthly prescriptions for 90 tablets containing 30-milligrams of oxycodone hydrochloride. After receiving the prescriptions, Gross would get them filled at a Montgomery-area pharmacy and sell the pills to others. Gross would then pay Beauchamp a portion of the money he received from selling the illegally obtained drugs.

During his plea hearing, Gross also admitted that he recruited others to participate in the above-described scheme. Gross would consult with Beauchamp and then direct other individuals to make appointments to see the doctor to get oxycodone prescriptions. The individuals recruited by Gross would get their prescriptions filled, give the pills to Gross or another individual acting at Gross’s direction, and receive payment for his or her services. Gross, or another individual acting at his direction, would then sell the illegally prescribed drugs. Additionally, the plea agreement revealed that after an individual recruited by Gross had an initial appointment with Beauchamp, he or she did not continue to see the physician each month. Instead, Beauchamp would give the prescriptions to Gross, who would pass them along to the individuals to take to pharmacies to be filled. After obtaining pills from a pharmacy, a participant in the scheme would then give the pills to Gross or another individual acting at Gross’s direction.  

During the sentencing hearing, Gross acknowledged that this scheme operated from as early as 2014 through early 2020. 

Gross’s sentencing hearing will occur on July 1, 2021.  At that hearing, Gross faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and substantial financial penalties. Beauchamp pleaded guilty to conspiring to unlawfully distribute oxycodone in October of 2020. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 25, 2021. 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Montgomery Police Department, and the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General assisted in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross and Alice S. LaCour are prosecuting the case.