No jail time is included in the sentence of a Boardman podiatrist who pleaded guilty to a 79-count indictment for improperly prescribing powerful painkillers to patients during the rise of the opioid epidemic in Ohio.

Dr. James Prommersberger, 58, could have faced maximum penalties of 108 years in prison and $345,000 in fines.  However, under a plea agreement, recommended by the Ohio Attorney General, a visiting judge on Friday placed Prommersberger on probation for one year.

The Ohio State Medical Board suspended Prommersberger's license to practice medicine in July.

State prosecutors say Prommersberger improperly prescribed powerful painkillers to patients during the rise of the opioid epidemic in Ohio.

In 2019, the Mahoning County Grand Jury handed up the indictment charging Prommersberger with 38 counts of illegal processing of drug documents, 39 counts of trafficking in drugs, one count of Medicaid fraud, and one count of grand theft.

The indictment says Prommersberger improperly wrote prescriptions for and supplied controlled substances, Hydrocodone, Tramadol, and Carisoprodol to 30 patients from 2013 to 2017.

As part of the doctor’s plea, Prommersberger must make restitution in the amount of $3,541 to Medicaid, and $23,771 to the State Board of Pharmacy.

 In 2017 the West Virginia Board of Medicine prohibited the doctor from prescribing benzodiazepines and limited his ability to prescribe opiates.

The Ohio Medical Board also restricted Prommersberger's ability to prescribe controlled substances.

The Kentucky Office of the Inspector General found that for one year from 2014-2015 Dr. Prommersberger prescribed over 1100 prescriptions, nearly 90 percent of which were hydrocodone. The majority of the orders in Kentucky were for quantities of 60 pills or more per month, according to investigators.

A complaint alleges that Prommersberger was prescribing controlled substances for long-term use when they were suggested to be only used for short-term use.

Dr. Prommersberger was issued his license to practice podiatry in West Virginia in 1989 and in 1990 in Ohio.