Kohli Found Guilty in Federal Trial

Effingham physician Naeem Kohli has been found guilty of seven counts of illegal dispensation of controlled substance. Sentencing is set for May 20.

The 60-year-old Kohli was found guilty by a jury in US District Court in Benton. The guilty verdicts Tuesday followed a 17-day trial.

US Attorney Stephen Wigginton said Kohli faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the seven counts.

Wigginton said evidence showed that from May 2009 through May 2013, Kohli wrote prescriptions out of Kohli Neurology and Sleep Center in Effingham for Schedule II controlled substances including Oxycodone and Hydromorphone, "outside the usual course of medical practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose."

A federal indictment earlier charged Kohli with 10 counts of illegal dispensation of controlled substance, as well as three counts of defrauding health care benefit programs and two counts of money laundering. There were no convictions on those additional charges.

In May of 2013, federal officials executed a search warrant on Kohli's office as part of their ongoing investigation.