72-year-old pharmacist convicted of filling fake painkiller prescriptions gets 15-plus years in prison

MABLETON, Ga. - Federal prosecutors said a Mableton pharmacist is facing more than 15 years in prison for filling fraudulent prescriptions for opioids between 2014 and 2016. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Georgia said 72-year-old Thomas Ukoshovbera A. Ebenedio attempted to flee the country after a jury found him guilty of 70 counts of illegally dispensing and distributing controlled substances and one count of refusing an administrative inspection warrant.

U.S. Marshals, Customs and Border Protection and the FBI located him at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. 

Federal prosecutors claim Gbenedio charged "customers" up to $1,000 to fill fake prescriptions for large quantities of highly addictive opioids, like oxycodone. Georgia Drug & Narcotics Agency agents inspected Gbenedio's pharmacy, known as Better Way, and noticed that several of his customers were driving long from Kentucky and Alabama to get prescriptions filled. Investigators learned Gbenedio filled fake prescriptions for controlled substances between 2014 and 2016.

The jury convicted Gbenedio after a two-week trial. He was ordered to report to probation for location monitoring but didn't report. A judge sentenced him to 15 years, eight months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay a $200,000 fine.