FRANKFORT, Ky. — One of the owners of a defunct Pikeville pain management clinic has pleaded guilty to a federal drug conspiracy charge, while his former partner faces an indictment of her own.
Bryce Layne May, 58, of Ashville, N.C., appeared in Frankfort federal court Wednesday to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
May was partners with Brandy Melissa Meadows, 47, of Pikeville, in the operation of the now-closed Kentucky Mountain Health clinic on Hibbard Street in Pikeville.
According to May’s plea agreement, Kentucky Mountain Health employed a doctor who had authorization to prescribe controlled substances until November 2023. After the clinic and doctor parted ways, May says in his plea agreement that he and Meadows agreed to continuing issuing prescriptions to clients, using the doctor’s name, DEA registration number and “hard token” used for two-factor authentication.
May says the doctor had no knowledge his credentials were being used by the clinic.
Patients would pay $200 in cash per visit to receive prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone from November of 2023 until June of 2024, when police raided the clinic with a search warrant.
May now faces up to 20 years in prison He has also agreed to pay more than $16,000 in restitution to the Kentucky Medical Assistance Program and to forfeit more than $89,000 more, which represents the money made from the scheme.
Once his guilty plea has been accepted, May will be sentenced August 11 in London.
Meadows has been indicted on the same charge, as well as a charge of aggravated identity theft for using the doctor’s personal information to issue prescriptions. She is scheduled to appear in London federal court April 16.
