A Maryland man has been sentenced to 65 months in federal prison for leading a scheme that involved stealing doctors’ personal information and using it to create fraudulent e-prescribing accounts. The accounts were then used by accomplices to issue thousands of illegal prescriptions for controlled substances.
Benjamin Jamal Washington, 25, from Hyattsville, Maryland, received his sentence from United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu in Los Angeles. Washington had previously pleaded guilty in September 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
According to court documents, between September 2020 and May 2023, Washington and his co-conspirators acquired the personal identifying information of dozens of physicians. This included names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, National Provider Identification numbers, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Registration Numbers. Using this data, the group created fake drivers’ licenses in the doctors’ names and paid corrupt telephone company employees to perform illegal SIM swaps—reassigning phone numbers from legitimate subscribers to phones they controlled.
With these fraudulent credentials and access to stolen phone numbers, Washington’s group opened e-prescribing accounts under the doctors’ identities. One co-conspirator even contacted a pharmacy technician to learn how physicians typically submit electronic prescriptions so they could avoid detection while issuing more fraudulent prescriptions.
The group submitted at least 5,600 fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances such as oxycodone and promethazine with codeine. They traveled across the United States—including within the Los Angeles area—to pick up these drugs from pharmacies before selling them for profit.
In addition to the prescription scheme, in May 2022 Washington stole mail from two mailboxes in Bethesda, Maryland. He also unlawfully possessed a United States Postal Service arrow key—a master key granting access to hundreds of mailboxes—and stole at least 30 checks from one mailbox.
Washington pleaded guilty in September 2025 to mail theft and unlawful possession of Postal Service keys; this case was transferred from the District of Maryland to the Central District of California.
Another co-conspirator in the e-prescription scheme, Micah Robert Lee, 26, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lee is scheduled for sentencing on April 17 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and DEA. Prosecutors Ian V. Yanniello (National Security Division), Elizabeth S.P. Douglas (Major Frauds Section), and Matthew J. Tako (Transnational Organized Crime Section) handled the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California enforces federal laws through criminal prosecutions and civil representations across its region. Serving more than 19 million residents over seven counties with offices in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Riverside (official website), it partners with law enforcement agencies like the FBI and DEA (official website) on public safety matters.
