Michigan AG office cites a series of adjournments
IMLAY CITY — The Michigan Attorney General’s case against Imlay City physician Dr. Madhu Subnani continues to move slowly, but deliberatively.
Felony charges were brought against Dr. Subnani, 69, last fall by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The charges alleged that Subnani had improperly prescribed controlled substances to patients, along with falsely reporting patient information.
Several scheduled probable cause hearings for Dr. Subnani in Lapeer 71-A District Court ended in adjournment, resulting in a series of delays in the case.
Previous hearings had been set for Jan. 22, Feb. 10, Feb. 26; and more recently on April 2.
The scheduled April 2 (via Zoom) hearing was also adjourned and has been rescheduled for April 23 at 9 a.m. — also via Zoom.
On Monday, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, a spokesperson for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, discussed the reasons for the series of adjournments.
“During the on-the-record proceedings the first few adjournments were to allow the defense adequate opportunity to review voluminous discovery,” Rossman-McKinney said. “The more recent adjournments were due to ongoing settlement discussions.”
Dr. Subnani is being represented by the Chapman Law Group of Troy and Warner, Norcross and Judd, LLP of Grand Rapids.
Case background
In late 2020, AG Nessel’s office reported that Michigan State Police had been investigating Subnani since November of 2019, after receiving a tip that patients were being prescribed controlled substances unnecessarily.
At that time, Nessel said investigators had engaged in a series of video-recorded undercover appointments with Subnani, seeking controlled substances considered to be “outside the scope of legitimate medical purposes.”
According to the AG’s report, Subnani had violated the controlled substances act on at least a dozen occasions.
The violations also included entering false notations in patient records in an attempt to legitimize the prescriptions written.
Subnani was charged with three counts of delivery of controlled substances, a four-year felony; two counts of placing misleading or inaccurate information into a patient chart, a four-year felony; and one count of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony.
Dr. Subnani had practiced medicine in Lapeer County for 27 years, including the past 24 years at Complete Family Healthcare in Imlay City.
Tom Wearing started at the Tri-City Times in 1989, covering the Village of Capac as a beat reporter. He later served stints as assistant editor and editor. Today, he covers Imlay City and Almont as a staff writer. He enjoys music and plays drums and sings with various musical groups in the Detroit Metropolitan area.
