Rogers Physician Arrested For Over-Prescribing Opiates And For Making A False Statement

Fayetteville, Arkansas – Duane (DAK) Kees, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas and Justin King, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced today that Dr. Robin Ann Cox was arrested today on federal charges. A federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas indicted Dr. Cox on one count of Prescribing Without a Legitimate Medical Purpose Outside the Scope of a Professional Practice and one count of Willfully and Knowingly Making a Material False Statement to Federal Investigators.

According to the Indictment, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO) Tactical Diversion Squad and Diversion groups along with the DEA Fayetteville Resident Office (FRO) initiated an investigation into the Arkansas Medical Clinic in Rogers, AR in 2019. Investigators received multiple complaints from local pharmacists, residents, and police departments in the Northwest Arkansas area of a suspected “pill mill” located in Rogers, Arkansas. Investigators identified Dr. Cox as the physician associated with the clinic and analyzed prescription drug monitoring data attributed to Dr. Cox’s prescribing habits from the date the clinic opened in May 2018 through the middle of September 2019. This analysis revealed Dr. Cox to be a suspected over-prescriber of opioids, and other evidence in the case revealed that many of Dr. Cox’s opioid prescriptions were not written in the usual course of professional practice. Further, Dr. Cox made false statements to agents of the DEA regarding the legitimacy of prescriptions bearing her signature. In the time period analyzed, Dr. Cox prescribed 214,050 tablets of oxycodone, with a street value of approximately $3,204,765 if diverted. Investigators also discovered that approximately 90% of the patients to whom Dr. Cox prescribed controlled substances during that time received a prescription for at least one opioid.

Other agencies participating in the investigation are the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Texarkana Police Department, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS), the Springdale Police Department and the Rogers Police Department.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Anne Gardner is prosecuting the case for the United States.

An Indictment is merely an accusation.  An arrest warrant represents a finding of probable cause.  A person is presumed innocent unless or until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.