Nebraska Orthopedic Surgeon Pleads Guilty in Oxy Case

Keith Hughes, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon based in Lincoln, Nebraska, has been sentenced to five years of probation and a $20,000 fine for writing fraudulent prescriptions to a patient and then buying back the painkillers.

The sentence was the result of a plea agreement. According to the plea agreement, “Between April 5, 2018, and July 14, 2020, Dr. Keith Hughes prescribed Colby Digilio oxycodone/acetaminophen 10-325 mg approximately 63 times for a total of 4,232 pills. Dr. Hughes used Digilio as a means to acquire the oxycodone for personal use and, in exchange, Dr. Hughes paid Digilio with cash or other services.”

According to court transcripts, Dr. Hughes’s attorney Joel Lonowski stated, in part, “Dr. Hughes wants me to make sure we clarify that he did—he did not retain all of those pills. They were shared between he and Mr. Digilio.”

Also, according to court transcripts, Dr. Hughes stated that he, “prescribed it initially and sometimes when he [Digilio] needed it. And then—then over time it became when he didn’t need it and—and then we were just splitting them, so –”

In exchange for Dr. Hughes’s guilty plea, the United States has agreed, per the plea agreement, that Dr. Hughes “will not be federally prosecuted in the District of Nebraska for any drug trafficking crimes as disclosed by the discovery material.”

Dr. Hughes’s medical license was revoked last year. He told U.S. District Judge John Gerard, “I‘ll attempt to make amends for the rest of my life.” He also indicated that for the past two years he has been attending addiction support group meetings.

The original indictment, filed in August 2020, charged Dr. Hughes and Digilio. It charged them with one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.

Digilio also pled guilty. He was sentenced to two years of probation and a $1,000 fine.