HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the
Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Wyoming County dentist,
Christopher Bereznak, age 50, of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on
April 20, 2020, by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to a
term of imprisonment of time served, approximately eight and a half months, on
unlawful drug distribution charges.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, In
August 2019, after a 7-day trial, a federal jury found Bereznak guilty on eight
counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances outside the usual
course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. It was alleged at trial that Bereznak
initiated a sexual relationship with a young woman after answering her ad
posted on Craig’s list wherein the young woman advertised that she was looking
for a “sugar daddy.” Bereznak answered
the young woman’s ad and thereafter initiated an intimate and sexual
relationship with her. The relationship involved Bereznak providing
prescriptions for controlled substances for the young woman in exchange for
intimacy and sex. Bereznak’s sexual and
unlawful relationship with the young woman was evidenced to the jury, in part,
through the introduction of approximately 1,000 text messages between the two.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Mariani
ordered that Bereznak be supervised by a probation officer for three years
following his release from prison, and also imposed a $5,000 fine.
Bereznak’s license to practice dentistry in Pennsylvania has
been suspended and his DEA registration has been revoked.
The charges stem from an investigation initiated by Drug
Diversion Agents located in Scranton, the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), Scranton, the Olyphant Police Department, and the Lackawanna County
District Attorney’s Office. Assistant
United States Attorneys Michelle Olshefski and Francis P. Sempa prosecuted the
case.
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