[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 157 (Monday, August 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49955-49956]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20209]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Hung Thien Ly, M.D.; Revocation of Registration

    On August 28, 2009, the Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of 
Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, issued an Order to 
Show Cause to Hung Thien Ly, M.D. (Respondent), of McRae, Georgia. The 
Show Cause Order proposed the revocation of Respondent's DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BL8586147, which authorizes him to 
dispense controlled substances as a practitioner, and the denial of any 
pending applications to renew or modify his registration on two 
grounds. Show Cause Order at 1-2.
    First, the Order alleged that, on August 6, 2009, the Georgia 
Composite Medical Board (Board) revoked his license to practice 
medicine in Georgia, the State in which he holds his DEA registration, 
and that therefore, he is not entitled to maintain his registration. 
Id. (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(3)). Second, the Order alleged that on 
August 14, 2008, Respondent was convicted of 129 counts of violating 21 
U.S.C. 841(a)(1), by dispensing controlled substances ``outside the 
usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical 
purpose.'' Id. at 2; see also id. at 1 (citing 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(2)).
    On September 30, 2009, Respondent was served with a copy of the 
Order to Show Cause. Thereafter, on November 2, 2009, Respondent filed 
letter waiving his right to a hearing and responding to the Show Cause 
Order. Waiver of Hearing and Written Response to Order to Show Cause at 
1. Therein, Respondent does not dispute either that he has been 
convicted by a United States District Court of violations of 21 U.S.C. 
841 or that the Board has revoked his medical license. Id. Rather, he 
maintains that the Board's action ``was based entirely'' on his 
conviction and that his ``trial was fundamentally flawed'' because he 
was ``denied appointed counsel by the District Court and represented 
himself at trial.'' Moreover, he ``is confident that the Eleventh 
Circuit will grant a new trial with appointed counsel and expert 
medical testimony that will demonstrate that his practice was 
consistent with the good faith treatment of chronic pain.'' Id. at 1-2. 
Accordingly, he ``requests that good cause is shown to suspend his 
registration [rather than revoke it] * * * until such time as the 
appeal [of his conviction] and any subsequent proceedings are 
complete.'' Id.

[[Page 49956]]

    Thereafter, the Government forwarded the record to me for final 
agency action. Having considered the record, I conclude that it 
establishes two separate grounds for revoking Respondent's 
registration. I further reject Respondent's request that his 
registration should be suspended and not revoked pending the completion 
of his appeal. I make the following findings.

Findings

    Respondent is the holder of DEA Certificate of Registration, 
BL8586147, which authorizes him to dispense controlled substances in 
schedules II through V. Respondent's registration was last renewed on 
March 6, 2006, and was to expire on March 31, 2009. However, on 
February 13, 2009, Respondent submitted an application to renew the 
registration. I therefore find that Respondent's registration has 
remained in effect pending the issuance of this Decision and Final 
Order. See 5 U.S.C. 558(c).
    I further find that on May 13, 2009, the United States District 
Court for the Southern District of Georgia entered a judgment in which 
it found Respondent guilty on 129 counts of violating 21 U.S.C. 
841(a)(1), which prohibits ``knowingly or intentionally * * * 
distribut[ing], or dispens[ing] * * * a controlled substance'' except 
as authorized by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). See United States 
v. Ly, No. CR407-00286-001 (S.D. Ga. May 13, 2009) (judgment). 
According to the indictment, the counts were for distributing 
hydrocodone (combined with acetaminophen), a schedule III controlled 
substance; alprazolam, a schedule IV controlled substance; and 
amphetamine sulfate, a schedule II controlled substance. For his 
crimes, the District Court sentenced Respondent to 97 months in prison; 
the Court also imposed an assessment of $12,900, a fine of $200,000, 
and a term of supervised release of five years following his release 
from prison.
    I further find that on August 6, 2009, the Georgia Composite 
Medical Board issued a final decision which revoked Respondent's State 
medical license based on his convictions.

Discussion

    Under Section 304(a) of the CSA, ``[a] registration * * * to 
dispense a controlled substance * * * may be suspended or revoked by 
the Attorney General upon a finding that the registrant * * * has been 
convicted of a felony under this subchapter.'' 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(2). The 
Attorney General may also revoke a registration ``upon a finding that 
the registrant * * * has had his State license or registration 
suspended, revoked, or denied by competent State authority and is no 
longer authorized by State law to engage in the * * * dispensing of 
controlled substances.'' Id. Sec.  824(a)(3).
    As found above, Respondent has been convicted of 129 counts of 
violating 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), a felony under subchapter I (the CSA). 
See id. Sec.  801 (note). These convictions provide reason alone to 
revoke his registration.
    Moreover, under the CSA, a practitioner must be currently 
authorized to handle controlled substances in ``the jurisdiction in 
which he practices'' in order to maintain a DEA registration. See 21 
U.S.C. 802(21) (``[t]he term `practitioner' means a physician * * * 
licensed, registered, or otherwise permitted, by * * * the jurisdiction 
in which he practices * * * to distribute, dispense, [or] administer * 
* * a controlled substance in the course of professional practice''). 
See also id. Sec.  823(f) (``The Attorney General shall register 
practitioners * * * if the applicant is authorized to dispense * * * 
controlled substances under the laws of the State in which he 
practices.''). As these provisions make plain, possessing authority 
under State law to handle controlled substances is an essential 
condition for holding a DEA registration.
    Accordingly, DEA has held repeatedly that the CSA requires the 
revocation of a registration issued to a practitioner whose State 
license has been suspended or revoked. David W. Wang, 72 FR 54297, 
54298 (2007); Sheran Arden Yeates, 71 FR 39130, 39131 (2006); Dominick 
A. Ricci, 58 FR 51104, 51105 (1993); Bobby Watts, 53 FR 11919, 11920 
(1988). Respondent's loss of his State authority thus provides an 
additional ground for revoking his DEA registration.
    I further reject Respondent's request that his registration only be 
suspended during the pendency of his appeal. As explained above, 
because Respondent does not have authority under Georgia law to 
prescribe controlled substances, he no longer meets the statutory 
requirement for holding a registration. Moreover, in the event that 
Respondent's confidence in the merits of his appeal is borne out, he 
can apply for a new registration upon persuading the Board to re-
license him. However, given that it is entirely speculative whether 
both of these events will occur, there is no reason to continue his 
registration in the interim. Accordingly, Respondent's registration 
will be revoked and his pending application to renew his registration 
will be denied.

Order

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) & 
824(a), as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) & 0.104, I order that DEA 
Certificate of Registration, BL8586147, issued to Hung Thien Ly, M.D., 
be, and it hereby is, revoked. I further order that any pending 
application of Hung Thien Ly, M.D., to renew or modify his 
registration, be, and it hereby is, denied. This Order is effective 
September 15, 2010.

    Dated: August 3, 2010.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2010-20209 Filed 8-13-10; 8:45 am]
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