CRANBERRY TWP — An area doctor is facing charges for allegedly forging prescriptions and paying for a Butler County man to fill them.

Sung Hong, 77, of Gibsonia was charged Feb. 1 by the state Attorney General's office with two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance through misrepresentation.

According to court documents, officials at Ellwood City Hospital contacted state narcotics agents in August 2017 about fraudulent prescriptions being written for Ritalin and sleeping aid Zolpidem.

Prescriptions were taken to a Cranberry Township drugstore, where the pharmacist refused to fill them due to the large quantity requested. Hong was listed as the prescribing doctor, documents state.

Officials said Hong retired from the hospital in March 2015 and should not possess prescription paperwork.

The complaint states prescriptions were requested by William Hribal, 58, of Slippery Rock and hundreds of pills were obtained between 2016 and 2017 from multiple pharmacies. A Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Report for Hribal found that on several occasions, he filled similar prescriptions at pharmacies in Cranberry Township and Butler.

Agents interviewed Hribal, who said he was friends with Hong from when they worked together at Grove City Medical Center. He said in 2016, Hong invited him to lunch and asked for a favor filling prescriptions.

Hribal said Hong would meet with him and drive him to various pharmacies to get the prescriptions filled, according to the complaint. Hribal told investigators Hong would give him cash and pharmacy discount cards for the transactions and he would hand the pills to Hong.

He further said Hong indicated he was mailing the prescriptions to his son.

Later that month, agents spoke to Hong, who allegedly admitted to writing the prescriptions, giving Hribal money to pay to fill them, and taking him to the pharmacies.

According to the complaint, Hong told agents he personally used the drugs, and that “as he got older, he found it harder to concentrate at work.” He used the Ritalin to stay awake and concentrate, and then took the Zolpidem to offset the Ritalin and allow him to sleep.

Investigators said in the complaint that Hong told agents he knew his actions were wrong, could not write prescriptions for himself, and was “embarrassed to go to another doctor for help.”

The complaint notes that agents worked with the Department of State to get Hong to surrender his medical license.

Hong was arraigned the same day as charges were filed and waived them to court. He is free on $10,000 unsecured bond, awaiting a March 26 formal arraignment.

Meanwhile, Hribal is charged with acquiring or obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, conspiracy to acquire or obtain possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, and criminal attempt to acquire or obtain possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation.

He was arraigned Jan. 17 and is free on a recognizance bond, awaiting a Feb. 22 preliminary hearing before District Judge David Kovach.