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Celina Physician Indicted for Distributing Controlled Substances
The physician matches the name and address of a doctor with a substantial Texas Medical Board disciplinary history.By Will Maddox | March 3, 2024|10:14 pm
A Celina physician is one of nine people indicted for drug distribution violations in Texas’ Eastern District federal court. A grand jury named Dr. Kevin Shelton last month and charged him with conspiracy to possess with intent to manufacture and distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The sealed indictment names eight other individuals and alleges that beginning in 2016, they conspired to launder money and distribute Hydrocodone; Oxandrolone, Nandrolone, Phentermine, Alprazolam, Diazepam, Testosterone, Tramadol, Adderall, and Dextroamphetamine.
The indictment was light on details but says the case is being investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), which “identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.” If convicted, the defendants each face up to 20 years in prison and will be forced to forfeit any property obtained through the illegal activity. Shelton also faces up to a $1 million fine, according to the indictment.
One of the other defendants is named Stephanie Shelton. There is a Celina company called Elite Wellness and Anti-Aging led by a Dr. Kevin Shelton and his wife, Stephanie Shelton, a nurse practitioner. The clinic’s services include hormone therapy, testosterone therapy, “Brotox, (Botox),” supplements, lab services, medical weight loss, and more. The website bio says, “Dr. Shelton and his wife Stephanie, a board certified Nurse Practitioner, have spent these years identifying the need for more focus on prevention and wellness as it relates to individuals seeking optimal health. They emphasize diet, exercise, hormone balance and supplementation as the method to build an ideal functional lifestyle.”
The Elite Wellness bio also says Shelton attended Oklahoma University School of Medicine. His name, educational background, and clinic address match a Dr. Kevin Shelton record in the Texas Medical Board with a significant disciplinary history dating back to 2013.
Shelton’s most recent board discipline in December 2022 occurred because the board said he prescribed controlled substances to patients with a history of opioid addiction, advertised hormone replacement therapy to healthy individuals to enhance their appearance, and failed to keep adequate records.
The board documents allege that Shelton prescribed Xanax and Valium without a medical need and failed to monitor for side effects and substance abuse despite warnings from other physicians and family members that the patients were abusing the medications. The board also alleged that he failed to meet the standard of care in prescribing anabolic steroids to ten patients and put the patients and the public at risk by advertising on his website that the treatment improves performance and aging.
The order required that he update his Drug Enforcement Association registration certificate to eliminate Schedule II drugs and that he couldn’t re-register without board approval. Several of the medications listed in Shelton’s indictment were also Schedule II narcotics. The order also mandated that he have his practice monitored by a physician for 12 cycles, take a record-keeping and prescribing course, pass a jurisprudence exam, and more. The complaint was dismissed by the State Office of Administrative Hearings in 2023.
Shelton has four disciplinary orders in total, including some for failing to meet the requirements of previous orders. He received a similar punishment in 2016 for failing to document adequate patient assessments and discussing the risks and outcomes of treatment. His first discipline in 2013 was for failing to do a proper workup on a patient before treatment and failing to keep adequate records.
Shelton’s Texas Medical Board record also says that a plaintiff filed a suit against him for allegedly misdiagnosing the plaintiff’s wife after a fall and head injury that led to her death.
In addition to Stephanie Shelton, others indicted by the grand jury include Jai Ellis of Celina, Clay York of Rowlett, Stephanie York of Rowlett, Jeffrey Cornwell of McKinney; Raman Bhaumik of Plano, Prasenjit Bhaumik of Plano, and David Pokorny of Sherman.
