A Fairfax County dentist accused of illegally distributing thousands of pain pills tried to intimidate potential witnesses, prosecutors say in court papers.
Dr. Hamada Makarita was charged last month with distribution of a controlled substance for allegedly obtaining about 2,000 pills illegally, taking some of them himself and giving others to women he dated.
In a filing in federal court in Alexandria last week, prosecutors said Makarita told an employee at his Oakton office she would go to jail if she did not talk to his defense attorney’s investigator. He also accused her of lying to the FBI in front of patients, the filing said.
Defense attorney James Tate wrote in a motion that Makarita asked the employee to speak with the investigator, but denies threatening her.
Prosecutors filed a motion asking U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rawles Jones to order Makarita to remain in custody pending further proceedings. Jones did not revoke the dentist’s release, but ordered him not to discuss anything related to the case with patients, employees, business associates or any other potential witnesses.
A criminal complaint says Makarita called in prescriptions for Vicodin, Percocet, Ambien and other drugs that weren’t medically necessary using the names of employees and patients. He also allegedly obtained pills from prescriptions given to patients. Court documents say he frequently gave narcotics to women he was dating, and once showed an office worker explicit photographs of his naked, unconscious girlfriend, who had passed out from the drugs.
A former girlfriend told the FBI this month that Makarita called her after his arrest to tell her that the FBI would be coming to talk to her. The woman said Makarita didn’t try to intimidate her during that conversation, but previously had threatened to send sex videos of the two of them to her parents.
Makarita has spoken with patients about their prescriptions in what prosecutors said were attempts to “coach” witnesses. Some of those conversations happened after authorities warned Makarita’s attorneys about the potential witness tampering, prosecutors said.
The defense motion says the dentist has talked about the case with current and former patients “as he has worked to prepare his defense to the charges against him,” but the discussions were not meant to intimidate, coach or threaten witnesses.
Prosecutors allege that Makarita has also tried to intimidate a former employee who confronted him about his drug use and prescription writing by calling her, sometimes in the middle of the night, and hanging up or leaving heavy breathing on her voice mail. Makarita denies making such calls, according to his attorney.
