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US v. John Keun Sang Lee (21-CR-201)

A Pittsburgh-area physician has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal narcotics laws and health care fraud.  The 242-count Indictment named John Keun Sang Lee, age 78, of Venetia, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant.

According to the Indictment, the defendant was a medical doctor and owner of the medical practice Jefferson Pain and Rehabilitation Center, with a principal office located at 4735 Clairton Blvd, Pittsburgh, Pa 15236. The indictment alleges that on multiple dates between May 2016 and October 2020, Lee knowingly distributed Schedule II controlled substances to five patients outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. The Indictment further alleges that from May 2016 to October 2020, Lee executed a scheme and artifice to defraud health care benefit programs Medicare and Medicaid by knowingly and willfully submitting claims for steroid injections that were neither reasonable nor medically necessary.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 20 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Karen Gal-Or is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Victims of all crimes under federal investigation are entitled to services under the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act (VRRA), including notification of court events. For further details, please refer to Title 34 United States Code section 20141 or the VRRA link posted at https://www.notify.usdoj.gov.

Now that charges have been filed in federal court, victims of the charges filed are, in addition, entitled to the following rights, according to the Crime Victims' Rights Act, Title 18 United States Code section 3771:

  1. The right to be reasonably protected from the accused;
  2. The right to reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of any public court proceeding, or any parole proceeding, involving the crime or of any release or escape of the accused;
  3. The right not to be excluded from any such public court proceeding, unless the court, after receiving clear and convincing evidence, determines that testimony by the victim would be materially altered if the victim heard other testimony at that proceeding;
  4. The right to be reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding;
  5. The reasonable right to confer with the attorney for the Government in the case;
  6. The right to full and timely restitution as provided in law;
  7. The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay;
  8. The right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim's dignity and privacy;
  9. The right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea bargain or deferred prosecution agreement; and
  10. The right to be informed of the rights under this section and the services described in section 503(c) of the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20141(c)) and provided contact information for the Office of the Victims' Rights Ombudsman of the Department of Justice.

Please understand that these rights apply only to victims of the counts charged in federal court, and thus you may not be able to exercise all of these rights if the crime of which you are a victim was not charged. You may contact the Victim/Witness Coordinator if you have questions about the progress of your case, your rights or the services to which you are entitled, or how you can assert them during the proceedings. If you believe that a Justice Department employee has not provided you with these rights, you may file a complaint with the Justice Department’s Victims’ Rights Ombudsman. For more information, go to http://www.justice.gov/usao/resources/crime-victims-rights-ombudsman. If you have questions about filing a complaint against an employee, you may contact the Ombudsman by email at usaeo.VictimOmbudsman@usdoj.gov.

If you believe you are a victim in this case and would like to opt-in to receive notifications or if you have any questions about your rights, please contact the Victim Witness Coordinator at 412-894-7400 or Email the Victim Witness Coordinator.

Updated April 13, 2023