Bloomfield Hills, Detroit, Plymouth, Okemos: 2 Michigan doctors, 3 others accused in alleged ‘cash for pills’ scheme

Reluctantly, one has to admire such ingenius criminals. 

What could these fraudsters accomplish if they turned all that effort toward legitimate work?

Click on Detroit brings the receipts.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/22/2-michigan-doctors-3-others-accused-in-alleged-cash-for-pills-scheme/

2 Michigan doctors, 3 others accused in alleged ‘cash for pills’ scheme
5 facing federal charges

Samantha Sayles    |    October 22, 2026

The breakdown:

Five people, including three doctors, face more than 30 federal charges over an alleged opioid-distribution and money-laundering scheme involving fake clinics, including one in Detroit.

Prosecutors allege Clara Wilkerson used two companies to recruit and pay doctors to prescribe controlled substances from 2018 through September 2024; Latanya Wallace-Hardiman allegedly operated one clinic.

The doctors allegedly prescribed high-value opioids, with patients paying $250–$500 in cash for visits and prescriptions; the clinic reportedly refused insurance.

Authorities allege the clinic screened patients through referrals, deposited cash, and used funds to promote the operation, including transactions exceeding $10,000.

Five people, including three doctors, are facing federal charges in an alleged “cash for pills” scheme, where they allegedly sold opioid drugs for cash at fake clinics.

Clara Wilkerson, 65, formerly of Bloomfield Hills; Latanya Wallace-Hardiman, 53, of Detroit; Dr. Luis Rodriguez, 53, currently of Orlando, FL; Dr. Nayantara Jnananand, 59, of Plymouth; and Dr. Prashanti Franklin, 49, of Okemos are facing more than 30 federal charges, including conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances, unlawful distribution of controlled substances, and money laundering.

Wilkerson and Wallace-Hardiman were charged with a money-laundering conspiracy and specific money-laundering counts stemming from the millions of dollars in cash the “cash-only” clinic received.

From 2018 through September 2024, Clara Wilkerson allegedly used her companies -- CRW Worldwide, LLC and CRW Development, Inc. -- to recruit and pay doctors to illegally prescribe prescription drug-controlled substances at fake medical clinics.

Federal authorities said Latanya Wallace-Hardiman owned and operated one of the fake clinics, Woodward Boulevard Medical Building, in Detroit.

Dr. Luis Rodriguez, Dr. Nayantara Jnananand and Dr. Prashanti Franklin allegedly worked at the fake “cash only” Detroit clinic at various times during the alleged conspiracy and illegally prescribed opiates with “high street value” such as Oxycodone 30mg, Oxymorphone 40mg (Opana), Hydrocodone-acet (Norco) and Oxycodone-acet 10-325 (Percocet).

Federal authorities said patients would pay $250 to $500 in cash for a visit that resulted in getting a prescription for opioid pain medications. Patients could only pay in cash for their prescriptions, and the alleged fake clinic refused to accept insurance for visits. Federal authorities called the alleged crime a “cash for pills” scheme.

To avoid detection, federal authorities said the fake clinic would ask every new patient, “Who sent you?” If the patient couldn’t name a marketer or employee they trusted, they would be rejected, and workers would say the clinic isn’t accepting new patients.

The clinic allegedly deposited cash and used it to promote the scheme by paying other doctors to write prescriptions. Other money-laundering transactions involved deposits and withdrawals exceeding $10,000 in a single transaction.