A Texas physician has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for operating her Kingwood medical clinic as an illegal pill mill that issued prescriptions for over three million opioid pills.

According to court documents, Maryam Qayum, 68, of Montgomery County, Texas, owned, operated, and was the sole prescriber at Recare Health Clinic (Recare). Ms Qayum operated Recare as a cash-only pill mill, selling controlled substance prescriptions to street-level drug dealers who were referred to at Recare as “providers”. 

“Providers” purchased prescriptions for high-strength, highly addictive opioids oxycodone and hydrocodone. 

Ms Qayum issued these prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose, and often without ever interacting with the patient. According to court documents, Ms Qayum issued prescriptions for more than three million opioid pills between 2022 and 2025, when her clinic was shut down by law enforcement.

Court documents detail how Recare, like many pill-mill clinics, operated well outside the course of a normal medical practice, including charging more for prescriptions for drugs with higher street value. 

A prescription for oxycodone 30mg cost as much as $500, while hydrocodone prescriptions were often $300, and Recare’s staff frequently took “tips” from drug dealers to fast-track their patients and prescriptions. 

The following note listing the cash price for each prescription was seized when law enforcement executed a search warrant at Recare.

In March 2026, Ms Qayum pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances unlawfully.  

In addition to Ms Qayum, four other defendants were previously sentenced in this case.

Melvin Sampson, 56, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 210 months in prison in June 2026. In March 2026, Mr Sampson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances unlawfully. Mr Sampson was a street-level drug dealer who brought patients to Recare, filled prescriptions at Surge Rx and elsewhere, and resold the drugs he obtained on the black market.

Tomi-Ko Bowers, APRN, 71, of Cleveland, Texas, was sentenced to 96 months in prison in June 2026. In March 2026, Mr Bowers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances unlawfully and was a nurse practitioner at Recare.

Lester Stokes, 38, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 63 months in prison in June 2026. In March 2026, Mr Stokes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances unlawfully and was Recare’s security guard.

Jared Williams, RPh, 49, of Pearland, Texas, was sentenced to 42 months in prison in July 2026. In March 2026, Mr Williams pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing a controlled substance. He was the owner and pharmacist in charge at Surge Rx, which filled illegitimate prescriptions issued by Ms Qayum.