The 69-year-old owner/operator of a “pill mill,” who state authorities say improperly prescribed pharmaceuticals believed to have contributed to the rise in overdoses and overdose deaths in Ohio, has been convicted.

George Marshall Adkins pleaded guilty in Scioto County Common Pleas Court to five felonies: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity, permitting drug abuse, aggravated trafficking in drugs and forgery.

His conviction came as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors will recommend Adkins receive 10 years in prison.

Adkins is to be sentenced in October.

The West Portsmouth resident also known as Marshall Adkins owned Greater Medical Advance Inc. in Wheelersburg, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who along with Scioto County Prosecutor Mark Kuhn, Ohio Board of Pharmacy Director Kyle Parker, and Scioto County Sheriff Marty Donini announced the plea and conviction.

Authorities found that Adkins operated the business as a pill mill from June 2009 until December 2011, when officers from several jurisdictions shut down the establishment in a raid.

The plea and conviction was one of the first on the state level against a non-prescriber for the management and activities connected to a pill mill, according to DeWine’s office. Investigators also found that Dr. Victor Georgescu, of Centerville, illegally prescribed prescription medications. Georgescu was facing similar charges, but died prior to trial.

Two other co-defendants were also charged. Tammy Newman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity, and Melissa Veach is awaiting trial on charges of drug trafficking.