Mississippi Pill Ring Federal Trial Set for January

A federal judge has scheduled for Jan. 26 the trial of a Georgia doctor accused of recruiting casino workers in Biloxi to run a prescription pill ring.

Dr. Sanjay Sinha of Woodstock, Georgia, is charged with one count of conspiracy and six counts of drug distribution.

An indictment alleges Sinha, 49, wrote prescriptions outside the scope of professional practice and others conspired to help him illegally distribute narcotics from 2009 until mid-February.

Prosecutors allege Sanjay is not licensed to practice medicine in Mississippi and wrote prescriptions for drugs outside the scope of his professional practice.

Prosecutors say the doctor is accused of visiting casinos four to six times a year, befriending casino employees and writing them and others prescriptions for hundreds of pills.

Two former casino workers, Joshua James Locke and Robert Thornton II, both 36 and from Biloxi, and another man, John Mattina, 44, of Ocean Springs, have each pleaded guilty in plea agreements with the government.

Mattina pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute hydrocodone in Harrison County.

Locke and Thornton each pleaded guilty to a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Mattina is out of jail on bond pending a Jan. 22 sentencing, while Thornton and Locke remain jailed pending sentencing in January and February respectively.