Sandusky doctor indicted by feds

SANDUSKY — A Sandusky doctor was indicted in federal court on more than 50 charges relating to his medical practice. Dr. Gregory Gerber, 55, a Port Clinton resident who had a practice in Sandusky, was charged with 51 counts of distributing controlled substances and two counts of health care fraud. Gerber's practice on Hayes Avenue was raided in 2018 and the U.S. Attorney's Office brought a civil case against him, alleging that he prescribed opioid pain medication for reasons outside what is medically accepted. That case remains pending in Ohio's U.S. District Court. A judge in the federal court halted Gerber's ability to issue prescriptions and Gerber closed his practice. Then on Thursday, federal authorities obtained the 53-count indictment against Gerber. Contained in the indictment are allegations that Gerber: • Prescribed "excessive doses of controlled substances for a long period of time without evidence of efficacy and while ignoring signs of addiction and drug abuse among his patients" • Sought reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers in a way that reflected a service more costly than what was performed • Wrote medically unnecessary prescriptions for cancer pain medication and received about $175,000 from the company who manufactures the drug, in exchange for speaking engagements where he promoted the drug Gerber's faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, according to a criminal designation form. An indictment is a formal charge and does not denote guilt or innocence.