Cancer doctor accused of giving opioids to romantic partner who died of overdose

An oncologist accused of prescribing opioids to a 21-year-old romantic partner who fatally overdosed has now pleaded guilty to distribution charges in Alabama.

Sammy Fuad Becdach, 57, will be sentenced on two counts of unlawful distribution and dispensing of a controlled substance, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama said Sept. 11.

The Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners revoked Becdach’s medical license in 2022, saying he engaged in sexual misconduct and prescribed opioids in a manner that endangered patients.

“My client has accepted responsibility for his actions in writing prescriptions unlawfully and is prepared to accept the consequences for that behavior,” his attorney, Tommy Spina, told McClatchy News. “However there is no causal connection between his unlawful actions and the tragic untimely death of the young lady, whose estate has filed a civil action in Madison County against Sammy and others.”

Prosecutors said Becdach wrote prescriptions for opioids for two family members and one friend, then they filled the prescriptions and gave the drugs back to Becdach.

He was charged with 20 counts, one for each prescription he’s accused of writing. He pleaded guilty to unlawfully writing two prescriptions: 90 pills of oxycodone 10 mg and 90 pills of hydrocodone 10 mg, according to court records.

He’s accused of giving pills to romantic partners and prescribing opioids to the 21-year-old who accidentally died of a fentanyl and morphine overdose in December 2020.

He told state Board investigators he wrote at least seven prescriptions for the woman and engaged in sexual acts with her for about three years, during which time he bought her gifts and paid for her living expenses, according to the license revocation document.

The woman’s mother and a friend told investigators they believed Becdach was controlling the young woman through drugs, the Board said.

Another doctor told investigators the woman said she was in a relationship with an “abusive and controlling” physician who she was trying to get away from, according to the document. He advised her to go to the police, he told the Board.

Federal officials said the illegal prescribing occurred from roughly 2018 to 2021, when Becdach worked as an oncologist at a Decatur medical center. He was indicted in January and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 13.

Decatur is about a 25-mile drive southwest from Huntsville.

This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 9:58 AM with the headline "Cancer doctor accused of giving opioids to romantic partner who died of overdose."