South Hills Suboxone clinic founder sentenced in tax fraud case
The founder of a Suboxone clinic in South Fayette Township was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to five years of probation, with 180 days of incarceration at Renewal, Inc. along with 180 days of home incarceration, after pleading guilty to filing false income tax returns.
U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Dr. Allan W. Clark, 57, of Peters Township. He was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine and $391,472 in restitution. Clark pleaded guilty in June.
He was the owner and operator of the South Hills Recovery Project, a strictly cash-based suboxone clinic. A patient’s first visit fee during the relevant times was $250. The follow-up monthly visits were $150.
Over the course of 2011, 2012 and 2013, Clark hired approximately 11 different doctors to work part time at SHRP to assist him in handling the follow-up visits. Of the $150 collected from the patient for the visit, the 11 doctors were paid approximately half, or $75, and SHRP kept the other $75. Clark did not report all of the cash collected, and used some of it for personal expenses such as improvements on his home.
Clark said previously he’d struggled with the business aspects of running the clinic as it “exploded” amid the opioid epidemic, but added that none of the charges involved alleged breaches of drug or insurance laws.
Federal court papers say Clark reported losses of $11,517 for 2011. He reported income of $6,189 in 2012 and $44,452 in 2013, respectively.