Physician’s Assistant|Sentenced to 14 Years

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CN) - A physician's assistant in San Bernardino County was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in federal prison for distributing OxyContin.

Christopher Henry Lister, 51, of Victorville, operated a mobile health clinic based in Hesperia, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. He pleaded guilty in November for conspiring to distribute oxycodone, the generic name of OxyContin.

Unfortunately for Lister, one of his black-market clients was an undercover DEA agent.

"In one exchange captured on videotape during the DEA investigation, Lister told one of his customers to 'stockpile' his supply of OxyContin because Lister was considering getting out of the business," prosecutors said in the statement. "Lister advised the co-conspirator that OxyContin prices on the street would likely increase if he stopped writing prescriptions."

Lister is a two-time loser. He was convicted in 2003 of illegally billing Medi-Cal for human growth hormone, and then selling it to "users in Los Angeles," prosecutors said.

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