Doctor faces jail over Internet pharmacy scam

updated 10:37 a.m. ET July 14, 2009

BOSTON - A doctor has pleaded guilty to writing tens of thousands of prescriptions for muscle relaxants and other drugs over the Internet to patients he'd never examined.

Federal prosecutors say Dr. Torino Jennings, of Mechanicsville, Va., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston on Monday to seven counts of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and four counts of tax evasion.

Prosecutors say between 2004 and 2007, Jennings issued from 50,000 to 100,000 prescriptions based on forms completed for online pharmacies.

Jennings was paid from $5 to $7 per prescription, but never reported the income to the Internal Revenue Service.

Jennings faces a maximum of five years in prison at sentencing scheduled for November.

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