A Milwaukee-area woman has pled guilty to one count of unlawfully distributing controlled substances.
Michele Nickels, 48, owned and operated
Integrative Family Wellness Center, where she saw and evaluated patients virtually while claiming to be a naturopathic doctor, according to documents filed in the case.
As a naturopathic doctor, Nickels addressed the "physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of disease," according to her company's website.
From June 2018 through April 2022, she allegedly fraudulently used the named and DEA registration of a former employee to prescribe controlled substances like Adderall and other medications to her patients.
"(Nickels) issued these prescriptions without the knowledge or consent of the former employee and did so by forging the former employee's name on the prescription," according to court documents.
Nickels was a licensed acupuncturist who had graduated from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Arizona. While she owned and operated Self-Integrative Family Wellness Center, Nickels was never licensed to practice medicine or prescribe medications in Wisconsin. Despite lacking the authority and licensure to prescribe medications or controlled substances, Nickels prescribed such substances over a four-year period.
A plea agreement in the case states Nickels issued a total of 20 unauthorized Adderall prescriptions. She also issued unauthorized prescriptions for 1,330 dosage units of Schedule III controlled substances and 870 dosage unites of Schedule IV controlled substances.
Court documents show Nickels was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and two years of supervised release.
