Local Fond du Lac doctor sentenced to prison for distribute controlled substance prescriptions

A Fond du Lac psychiatrist who ran a scheme to distribute controlled substance prescriptions in exchange for cash, which authorities say totaled more than $250,000, was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office, 77-year-old John Whelan reportedly sold ‘improper and illicit prescriptions’ while working as a physician in Fond du Lac.

Whelan was indicted in January of 2021 when it was found he was writing the prescriptions from a house on Clinton Street in Fond du Lac on Saturdays in exchange for $200-$300 cash per prescription. Whelan wrote prescriptions for drugs such as Ritalin, Xanax, and Adderall outside the course of a professional medical practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and lying to federal agents, Whelan was sentenced to a term of 48 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release.