North Carolina Physician Sentenced to Six Months in Prison for Unlawful Prescription Scheme
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Henry Ronald Emery, Jr. to six months in prison for conspiring to allow his DEA registration number to be used for thousands of unlawful buprenorphine prescriptions.
3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 18, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET
This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.
We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 18, 2026, 9:09 a.m. ET — checked 59 min ago.
Earlier reports
Aug 18, 2026, 9:23 a.m. ET
North Carolina Physician Sentenced to Prison in Unlawful Prescription Scheme
According to official court records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina, U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Henry Ronald Emery, Jr., 54, of Waxhaw, North Carolina, on Thursday, August 13, 2026, to serve six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Judge Bell also ordered a forfeiture money judgment of $452,830.
Official documents state that from September 2018 through 2022, Emery was a licensed physician in North Carolina employed by Church Ekklasia Sozo, an online medical provider operating as a non-profit corporation. Emery allowed administrative personnel at the organization to use his Drug Enforcement Administration registration number to issue over 25,000 buprenorphine prescriptions to patients across multiple states, generally without having any personal interaction with the patients. Emery received payments totaling $452,830 during the conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced the sentence, which was officially issued on August 17, 2026, stating, "To end the opioid epidemic, we have to address the problem on all fronts, and that includes physicians who abuse their responsibility prescribing controlled substances." Official records note the case was investigated by the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick J. Miller and William Bozin.
Aug 18, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ETFirst report
North Carolina Physician Sentenced in Buprenorphine Prescription Scheme
On August 13, 2026, 54-year-old physician Henry Ronald Emery, Jr., of Waxhaw, North Carolina, was sentenced to six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release, according to official records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell also ordered a $452,830 forfeiture money judgment. Official records note that this case remains open and developing.
According to official documents announced on August 17, 2026, Emery operated a family medicine practice in Weddington, North Carolina, from September 2018 through 2022, while employed by Church Ekklasia Sozo (CES), an online non-profit provider. Official records state that Emery allowed administrative staff at CES to use his Drug Enforcement Administration registration number to issue over 25,000 buprenorphine prescriptions without prior personal interaction with patients, receiving $452,830 from CES during the conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson stated, "To end the opioid epidemic, we have to address the problem on all fronts, and that includes physicians who abuse their responsibility prescribing controlled substances." The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick J. Miller and William Bozin.
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- Version 118 Aug 2026, 13:23current
First published.
- Version 118 Aug 2026, 13:00current
First published.
- Version 118 Aug 2026, 13:30current
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