United States v. Cuong

Appellant Tran Trong Cuong, M.D. (Tran) is a physician educated in Paris, France and admitted to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1973. He is registered as a practitioner with the Drug Enforcement Administration and authorized to prescribe controlled substances listed in Schedules II, III, IV and V as set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 812. He was indicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) for knowingly and willfully distributing and dispensing by prescription various quantities of Schedule II through V controlled substances outside the usual course of medical practice and for other than legitimate medical purposes. The indictment contained 136 counts of unlawful distribution of the drugs and a separate count for criminal forfeiture of property allegedly used in connection with these offenses, as provided by 21 U.S.C. § 853. Following a jury trial, Tran was convicted of 127 counts, and the jury returned a special verdict supporting forfeiture of certain real estate located in Alexandria, Virginia. He was acquitted of eight counts, and one count was dismissed prior to the verdict.