Fayetteville City Councilwoman Kathaleen Brewer has offered insight on what resulted in the charges against psychiatrist Dr. Ginari Price, her Psycare LLC business manager husband and two nurse practitioner staff members at the Psycare LLC office in Fayetteville after a Jan. 28 raid by Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents and law enforcement.
Price, her husband and two nurse practitioners were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and practicing medicine without a license.
The gist of the complaint is that even while the doctor was behind bars, she, her husband and staff continued to write and dispense scripts for prescription drugs.
Brewer subsequent to the arrests provided insight on how the issue was brought to light.
“Being a firm believer in ‘see something, do something’ and having a lot of experience dealing with mental health counselors because I nearly lost a son and later on his daughter (my granddaughter) to drugs, I intuitively knew something was off when this couple came before (City Council) after (previously) requesting a proclamation for service during Mental Health Month,” Brewer explained.
Brewer cited several variables that put the couple on her radar.
“First off, it’s pretty unusual for someone to request their own proclamation. Second, mental health professionals do not make great money, yet this couple was dressed to the ‘nines’ and came off as TV celebrities,” Brewer said. “Thirdly, Dr. Price corrected me when I addressed her by her first name. She insisted she be called Dr. Price. Later I made a remark to our City Clerk that something wasn’t right. She, in turn, looked them up online and saw there were several complaints and informed me. That’s when I dug deeper and found all sorts of alarming information and informed Council that from now on there needs to be due diligence on everybody before they receive a proclamation, plaque, etc.”
Brewer took her concerns to a place in the community where those concerns were heard and subsequently investigated.
“Because stopping drugs and providing better mental health is very important to me, I have been a member of the coalition Drug Free Fayette, under which I joined the Opioid Prevention team,” said Brewer. “It just so happens, on my team there are some DEA agents, one retired. I mentioned this couple and their business Psycare, LLC to Agent Ken Morrow and the reasons why I thought they weren’t 100 percent legitimate. And, thank God, he followed up.”
Commenting on the communication that resulted in the investigation, Drug Free Fayette Program Coordinator Michael Mumper said, “It’s good that a broad spectrum of the community can get together to share information and perspectives. And it’s a good thing that people are able to sit and talk on a regular basis, and understand each other’s concerns and how and where to share information.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Warren Sellers said DEA received information that led to the belief that criminal activity at the Psycare LL office in Fayetteville was occurring.
DEA agents, with the assistance of local law enforcement, on Jan. 28 executed the search warrants for Dr. Price’s office in Fayetteville and her home on Westbridge Road. Michael Price and nurse practitioners Marie Pierre and Nqozi Okoro were subsequently arrested.
Dr. Price had been in the Fayette County Jail since October 2018 after being served with a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on a number of traffic violations issued by Peachtree City police in March 2016.
Sellers said that, during Dr. Price’s incarceration, more than 1,000 prescriptions were issued for controlled substances.
