Georgia Doctor Accused Of Running Pill Mill After Being Linked To 36 Deaths

Dr. Narendra Nagareddy has been accused of running a pill mill out of his offices in Jonesboro, Georgia. Nearly 40 federal and local agents, including DEA agents, raided his offices in January before going to his home, where he was taken into custody, to seize more assets.

According to legal documents, 36 of the doctor’s patients died in recent years while being prescribed controlled substances, 12 of which have been confirmed to have resulted from prescription drug overdoses, according to autopsy reports.

“He’s a psychiatrist in Jonesboro who has been overprescribing opiates and benzodiazepine and the last several years has had a multitude of overdoses and overdose deaths,” Clayton County Police Chief Mike Register told WSB-TV Atlanta.

The doctor is charged with prescribing pain medication “which is outside his profession as a psychiatrist and not for a legitimate purpose for the patient,” said Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson.

One of the 36 patients who died was Audrey Austin, a 29-year-old mother of two who had just gotten out of rehab shortly before her death. She died from a fatal prescription drug overdose just days after she visited Nagareddy. “She was an addict and he made it very easy for her,” her mother Ruth Carr told WSB-TV Atlanta. It was reportedly Austin’s death that led to the doctor’s arrest.

“People come to this person for help, and instead of getting help, they’re met with deadly consequences,” said Register. “If the allegations are true, he is Dr. Death, no doubt about it.”

Aside from criminal charges, the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office also filed a RICO civil action to seize Nagareddy’s assets.

Since his arrest, a sign has been posted on the door to the doctor’s office advertising the Georgia Crisis Access Line (1-800-715-4225) for those who need assistance with prescription drug addiction.

Nagareddy has since been released on an unspecified amount of bail, according to the police. He has been practicing for more than 15 years.

“I knew that he was doing this with people other than my daughter, I knew that she wasn’t the only one,” said Carr.