CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Clarksville doctor whose clinic was raided by federal agents in 2024 has now been charged with health care fraud in what federal prosecutors say was a years-long scheme involving the unlawful prescribing of controlled substances.
Dr. Ramon Aquino, 77, is charged with one count of health care fraud, alleging he prescribed “medically unnecessary” controlled substances for more than five years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Prosecutors allege Aquino prescribed “excessive and inappropriate quantities” of controlled substances while operating North Clarksville Medical Center, issuing more than 1.08 million pills and doses during that period, the press release said.
Many of those prescriptions were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose and were outside the usual course of professional practice. These prescriptions contributed to “patient abuse, misuse and addiction,” the press release said.
Prosecutors also allege Aquino failed to adequately monitor patients’ use of the drugs and continued prescribing even after receiving warnings about his practices. His conduct caused an estimated $335,621 in losses to health care benefit programs, according to the release.
“Medical professionals occupy positions of extraordinary trust and responsibility,” said U.S. Attorney Braden H. Boucek. “When that trust is abused through the unlawful prescribing of controlled substances, patients can suffer serious harm, addiction can flourish, and taxpayer-funded health care programs can be defrauded. Our office will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who contribute to prescription drug abuse and health care fraud.”
Clarksville Now has attempted to reach Aquino for comment.
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The case is part of the Department of Justice’s National Health Care Fraud Takedown, a coordinated nationwide effort targeting schemes that exploit patients and defraud federal programs, the press release said.
Clinic raided in 2024 and prior discipline
In June 2024, federal agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies executed a search warrant at the clinic, according to previous reports.
At the time, Aquino had been placed on probation a month prior by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners and barred from prescribing opioids. The board’s May 2024 consent order found that Aquino prescribed controlled substances to 21 patients without maintaining adequate records, checking the Controlled Substance Monitoring Database or performing pill counts. He admitted he sometimes prescribed a “cocktail” of benzodiazepines, opioids and Soma (carisoprodol) even though he knew it was inappropriate, according to the order.
The board also found he continued prescribing to patients with histories of overdoses or positive drug screens, saying his monitoring method “is a matter of trust.” He was placed on a three-year probation, restricted from prescribing opioids or Soma for at least a year, and ordered to pay $9,250 in penalties and costs.
Ten years earlier, in 2014, the medical board reprimanded Aquino after reviewing 30 patient records and finding he prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines in amounts that were not medically necessary, according to previous reports. That same year, Aquino and the clinic were sued by the family of a Clarksville man whose bladder cancer went undiagnosed. The case settled under undisclosed terms in 2015.
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