Bethesda doctor faces 20 years in prison for unlawful distribution of controlled substances

MARYLAND - A Maryland doctor could face 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

The doctor has been identified as 48-year-old Anissa Maroof of Potomac, Maryland. Maroof pled guilty to a federal charge of distributing and dispensing controlled substances.

According to the guilty plea, between January 2019 and June 2022, Maroof knowingly assisted in the distribution and dispensing of Alprazolam, Amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, and Buprenorphine. 

Maroof, a physician who was board-certified in addiction psychiatry, owned and operated a medical practice in Bethesda, Maryland. She was accused of providing patients from West Virginia with prescriptions for controlled substances, including Alprazolam, Amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, and Buprenorphine. 

Court documents say Maroof prescribed patients combinations of Alprazolam, Amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, and Buprenorphine without warning them about the risks of combining these medications. She also prescribed controlled substances to patients even after they indicated that they were selling their excess supply of controlled substances through illicit channels.

Additionally, Maroof regularly prescribed controlled substances to patients without providing them with therapeutic services. On numerous occasions, Maroof called in prescriptions to local pharmacies without first seeing the patient, and then directed the patient to leave cash under her office door in exchange for writing the prescriptions. She also often advised patients on how to split filling their prescriptions between different pharmacies.

Maroof faces a maximum of 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release.