William Ellien

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Georgia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 24, 2013

Savannah Doctor Sentenced To 30 Months In Pills For Sex Scheme

SAVANNAH , GA: WILLIAM ELLIEN, 57, of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced yesterday in federal court by U.S. District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr., to 30 months in prison for exchanging prescriptions for highly addictive drugs in exchange for sex. Ellien was also sentenced to serve 3 years of supervised release upon his release from prison and ordered to surrender all of his medical licenses.

According to the evidence presented during the guilty plea and sentencing hearings, from 2009 until 2012, Dr. William Ellien, a once prominent Savannah Psychiatrist and a former Lt. Col. with the United States Army, traded hundreds of prescriptions for oxycontin, hydrocodone, Xanax, and other highly addictive drugs in exchange for sexual acts with multiple women. Some of Ellien’s victims were strip-club dancers, who he befriended and then exchanged prescriptions for sexual favors. The evidence also showed that Ellien met numerous women at hotels, restaurants and other locations to engage in the illicit activity. None of these women were his patients; many were addicts or became addicted as a result of Ellien’s criminal conduct.

United States Attorney Edward Tarver stated, “This defendant completely ignored his oath to ‘do no harm,’ all the while feeding the addiction of others for his own personal gratification. Now, he’ll do no harm serving a stiff prison sentence.”

This case was investigated by the DEA and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney E. Greg Gilluly, Jr. For additional information, please contact First Assistant United States Attorney James D. Durham at (912) 201-2547.