BECKLEY – A former doctor whose license was revoked earlier this year has been arrested on federal charges, including 17 counts of knowingly and intentionally distributing oxycodone for no legitimate medical reason.
Michael Kostenko, who previously operating Coal Country Clinic, was arrested Nov. 30 on a total of 20 criminal counts focusing on distribution of oxycodone not for legitimate medical purposes and for distributing the painkiller that contributed to the overdose deaths of three patients.
In March, Kostenko’s medical license was suspended and was later revoked by the Board of Osteopathic Medicine due to the severity of the charges against him.
Kostenko filed a lawsuit in April against the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, the West Virginia Office of the Governor, the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine and other unnamed defendants after he claimed they wrongfully suspended his medical license due to whistle-blowing.
Kostenko also sued CBS for defamation in May after he claimed they called his clinic a pill mill and maliciously edited an interview to fit the perception that he was a drug trafficker.
Kostenko has been represented by his daughter, Christina Kostenko, throughout the litigation.
In an interview with The Register-Herald, Kostenko has said his practice focused on self-management and “pathologic adaptation.”
The board said Kostenko’s medical practices were not adopted or approved by them or any other agency in West Virginia.
Kostenko is currently being held in the custody of U.S. Marshals. There is a federal arraignment hearing scheduled for Dec. 2 at 10:30 a.m. in the U.S. Magistrate Court in Beckley.