A doctor accused of running two "pill mills" in Dayton and New Carlisle was sentenced today to three years in prison.

In early October, officials described Han M. Yang's medical practice as a “pill mill” where patients seek no medical attention and instead purchase prescriptions — generally with cash — for powerful painkillers from doctors, according to reports.

Clark County Common Pleas Judge Richard O'Neill sentenced Yang on one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a fifith-degree felony, five counts of trafficking in prescription drugs, fourth-degree felonies and theft by depection, according to a news release.

Yang was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $17,000 stolen in Medicare and Medicaid fraud and forfeit more than $100,000 in proceeds from prescription drug trafficking. Yang will also be subject to three years supervised release after his prison term and a five-year suspension of his driving privileges. 

The case began when law enforcement received a tip that a doctor was prescribing powerful painkillers to a pregnant woman in her ninth month, according to Attorney General Mike DeWine in a release.

"Our message to pill mill doctors who sell prescriptions for profit without regard to the health of their patients is that we will investigate them; we will prosecute them; and they will receive tough sentences like the one issued today if they contribute to Ohio's prescription drug abuse problem just to make a quick buck," DeWine said in the release.

Clark County Sheriff Gene A. Kelly said in October that patients were lined up outside the Dayton office in the 3200 block of North Main Street when authorities arrived. He called the office “a sham” as it housed no exam rooms or medical equipment.

The case became a joint investigation after the state Attorney General’s Office opened a Medicaid fraud case, said Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Yang is a 1966 graduate of Yonsei University’s College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. He said he had practiced at the North Main Street location since 1976, the same year he became a naturalized citizen.