Arlington doctor sentenced to 10 years for illegal oxycodone operation
An Arlington doctor will spend 10 years behind bars for peddling lethal drugs to fake patients and supplying her office manager's relatives.
A federal court sentenced 69-year-old Kirsten Van Steenberg Ball Wednesday after a jury found her guilty on charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and 19 counts of distribution.
Court records and trial evidence revealed that Ball, a primary care physician, operated a medical practice out of her Arlington home.
She directed her office manager, Candie Marie Calix, 42, of Front Royal, to recruit individuals, including Calix’s relatives, to pose as pain patients. Ball would then prescribe large quantities of oxycodone to these individuals, who would subsequently sell the pills.
This illustration image shows tablets of opioid painkiller Oxycodone delivered on medical prescription taken on September 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)
Notably, Ball prescribed approximately 50,000 oxycodone pills to Calix over a decade.
Authorities discovered that Ball routinely overprescribed oxycodone, sometimes issuing up to 360 pills per month to individual patients.
Despite clear signs of drug abuse and addiction among her patients, including instances of overdose and diversion, Ball continued to supply them with the drug.
Three of her former patients died from drug overdoses. In one instance, Ball prescribed a lethal combination of oxycodone and benzodiazepines to a patient, despite repeated signs of abuse and overdose. Similarly, another patient died after being prescribed a dangerous cocktail of drugs by Ball.
During investigations by state regulatory authorities, Ball falsified records to conceal her illicit prescribing practices. She also continued to prescribe oxycodone to patients even after being discharged by the Virginia Department of Health Professions.
The sentencing also includes forfeiture of $750,000 and payment of an additional $50,000 in community restitution.
Ball's accomplice, Candie Marie Calix, was sentenced to seven years in prison for her role in the conspiracy.