BOSTON — A Worcester psychiatrist who previously practiced on Nantucket has been placed on probation after his 2023 conviction for illegally prescribing “dangerous combinations” of highly addictive drugs to his patients, the U.S. Attorney said Thursday.
Mohamad Och, 69, was sentenced to four years probation and also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman handed down his sentence.
A jury convicted Och of three counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance after an 11-day trial in November 2023.
Och was a licensed psychiatrist who owned and operated Island Counseling Center in Worcester, and he has practiced psychiatry elsewhere in Massachusetts, including Nantucket.
Among other services, Och was authorized to prescribe Schedule II-IV controlled substances to patients.
Och “repeatedly prescribed a combination of benzodiazepines and stimulants outside of the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose,” prosecutors said.
“Specifically, on multiple occasions between August 2016 and February 2017, Och knowingly issued prescriptions for Adderall (a Schedule II amphetamine) and Xanax (a Schedule IV benzodiazepine) to undercover federal agents,” prosecutors said.
Evidence at trial showed that amphetamines have a high potential for abuse and present serious cardiovascular risks. Evidence also showed the risks presented by mixing Xanax, a depressant, with a stimulant like Adderall.
Additional trial evidence showed that Och “prescribed such highly-addictive medications without doing proper psychiatric examinations, without obtaining prior medical records, and without administering diagnostic tests (including urinalyses or blood tests) – even when faced with facts that the undercover patients may have been participating in drug diversion," prosecutors said.
Och also “did not discuss or review medication side effects, their conditions’ symptoms, or the risks and benefits of taking drugs like Adderall and Xanax with the undercover agents – despite documenting in medical records that he had done so,“ prosecutors said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
