Former Mingo County Doctor Sentenced

{Williamson, West Virginia}...Sixty-six year old William Ryckman, a former Mingo County doctor, has been sentenced to six months in prison and fined $5,000 for fraudulently prescribing painkillers and other medications. Ryckman pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to misuse a Drug Enforcement Administration registration number. Prosecutors say Ryckman signed paperwork sent to his Pennsylvania home by his office in Williamson allowing individuals he did not evaluate or see as patients to gain prescriptions for Hydrocodone and other medications, including Xanax. He admitted that individuals paid workers in his office to be directed to pharmacies for the medications.