United States v. Enmon

United States v. Enmon

Opinion

 [*770]  Dr. Cleveland Enmon was charged with 92 federal crimes arising from his nine-month participation in two Georgia pain management clinics that purportedly operated as "pill mills." Dr. Enmon appeals his convictions and 240-month sentence for conspiracy to unlawfully dispense controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(C) and 846, unlawful dispensation of controlled substances in violation of §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), (b)(1)(E), and (b)(2), and money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1957(a) and (b)(1).

Dr. Enmon raises four arguments on appeal. First, he asserts that the district court plainly erred (a) by instructing the jury that his good faith belief that he was acting in the usual course of professional practice [**2]  was irrelevant and (b) by giving the jury a general verdict form. Second, he challenges the district court's decision to allow him to represent himself at trial and at sentencing. Third, he claims that the government presented insufficient evidence regarding the standard of medical care in Georgia. Finally, he argues that his 240-month sentence was substantively unreasonable. After careful review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm.

Because we write for the parties, we assume their familiarity with the underlying record and recite only what is necessary to resolve this appeal.

In May of 2011, Dr. Enmon was hired to work for a pain management clinic called Brunswick Wellness operated by his then-supervisor, Ronald Colandrea. Brunswick Wellness was a cash-only facility with little to no medical equipment, and employed doctors who were primarily responsible for issuing prescriptions. During Dr. Enmon's short employment at Brunswick Wellness, the clinic was the subject of an ongoing investigation following a local pharmacist's complaints about the clinic's practices.¹

Undeterred by the Drug Enforcement Agency's raid of Brunswick Wellness in July of 2011, Dr. Enmon opened a new [**3]  clinic called Ocean Care in another part of Georgia just weeks later. Dr. Enmon was the only doctor at Ocean Care and he personally issued handwritten prescriptions, charging customers $275 per visit. Local pharmacists subsequently reported that Ocean Care was issuing an inordinate amount of prescriptions and surrounding businesses complained about large lines and loitering outside the clinic. In October of 2011, the DEA raided Ocean Care and seized certain files and money orders. But Dr. Enmon remained open for business through December of 2011.

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