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An Oakton doctor pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to federal charges stemming from an operation that produced thousands of prescriptions for oxycodone and amphetamines, including drugs prescribed without proper examinations or a legitimate medical purpose.
David Allingham, 64, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and amphetamines, maintaining drug premises and making false statements involving health care matters. Several of his patients died from drug overdoses within hours, days or weeks of receiving oxycodone prescriptions from him, according to court documents.
Allingham owned Oakton Primacy Care Center, an urgent care facility where he was the only licensed medical practitioner. From at least April 2019 through January 2024, Virginia pharmacies filled about 7,330 oxycodone prescriptions written by Allingham, totaling approximately 405,164 pills.
Prosecutors said he prescribed opioids and amphetamines to numerous patients without properly evaluating their individual needs. The prescriptions fell outside accepted professional practice and regulations and lacked a legitimate medical purpose.
Patients had to pay $300 to $550 out of pocket for appointments, usually through cash, credit card or Venmo. A doctor’s letter cost an additional $700.
Chronic-pain patients were required to pay for a visit at least once every 21 days, but many of those appointments consisted only of phone calls with employees who lacked medical training. Allingham renewed medications without examining patients in person and relied on information from patients that had not been independently verified.
Several pharmacies investigated his opioid prescribing and stopped filling his controlled-substance prescriptions. After a national pharmacy chain rejected prescriptions written by him, Allingham told employees to move patients away from major chains and toward independent “mom and pop” pharmacies. Prosecutors said the shift was intended to avoid further scrutiny and allow him to continue prescribing high-dose opioids.
Allingham also directed untrained staff members to issue controlled-substance prescriptions while he was absent and without proper medical examinations. Employees issued opioid or amphetamine prescriptions at his direction on at least 487 occasions, generating at least $168,000.
Although patients typically underwent urine drug screening during in-person appointments, Allingham repeatedly ignored or excused failed results. Some results were withheld from patient files or inaccurately described in medical records.
One patient failed 40 drug tests between 2019 and 2023. Allingham’s records claimed the patient tested positive for cocaine because of contact with currency contaminated by cocaine residue. He continued prescribing oxycodone to that patient.
Allingham also issued at least 527 amphetamine prescriptions, amounting to more than 13,500 pills, to help chronic-pain patients lose weight. The prescriptions were provided regardless of whether the patients were obese and violated applicable regulations.
He additionally used another doctor’s identity without permission—and directed employees to do the same—to obtain medications for himself and his relatives. Employees were told to list Oakton Primacy Care Center’s phone number on prescriptions purportedly written by that doctor and were coached on how to answer pharmacists’ questions, even though the doctor did not work at the practice at the time.
Law enforcement searched Allingham’s home and medical office in July 2023. During an interview, he made false statements about his prescribing practices and later instructed at least one employee to delete text-message records of their communications.
Allingham is scheduled for sentencing April 30. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, although federal sentences are often below the statutory maximum. A federal judge will determine his punishment after reviewing sentencing guidelines and other required factors.