First Defendant In Casper Prescription Drug Conspiracy Sentenced To Probation

The first of 10 defendants was sentenced Wednesday for her role in a state district court case related to the federal multistate prescription drug conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by a Casper doctor and his wife.

Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey sentenced Amy Tomlinson to one to five years of probation, complete substance abuse treatment, submit to twice-weekly drug testing, not leave the state without permission, and not possess or consume alcohol or controlled substances without permission.

On Aug. 2, Tomlinson pleaded guilty, the first of the 10 defendants to do so, to conspiracy to deliver Xanax (the generic is alprazolam), a Schedule IV drug.

During her plea, Tomlinson said she sometimes exchanged Xanax for other pills. She said she had visited Dr. Shakeel Kahn.

In exchange for her plea, Assistant District Attorney Trevor Schenk agreed to drop a second and more serious count to distribute oxycodone, a Schedule II drug.

If convicted of the Schedule IV conspiracy count, Tomlinson could have faced up to two years of imprisonment.

Nine other defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Local, state and federal agencies discovered Tomlinson and the other defendants during the investigation of Kahn and his wife, Lyn, who are charged in federal court with multiple counts, according to documents filed in Natrona County District Court.
An affidavit filed by an agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation says the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating Kahn after reports he was prescribing abnormally excessive amounts of controlled substances, mostly opiates, in Natrona County. However, the DEA found people would travel from Fremont County and as far away as Massachusetts to obtain prescriptions.

As the DEA's investigation progressed, the DCI learned from a patient of Kahn that people would pay $500 in cash a month to him for whatever prescription they wanted, as long as they signed a contract stating they were not wearing a wire, working with law enforcement, and promising to never call the doctor a drug dealer.

Kahn sometimes would fax the prescriptions to a Vape World, 211 E. 12th St., which was operated by his stepchildren. The store is now closed.
The Kahns themselves were arrested at their home in Casper on Nov. 30.

They and other defendants Paul Beland, and Shakeel Kahn's brother, Nabeel, remain in custody awaiting trial in federal court. They face charges including drug conspiracy distribution, use of communications in drug distribution, firearms charges, and operating a continuing criminal enterprise.