PAiN
09-09-2014, 11:27 PM
Ex-SEAL accused of lying about being shot also lied about forging steroid prescriptions
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Former Navy SEAL Christopher Heben is accused of lying about the circumstances of his shooting.
September 04, 2014
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BATH TOWNSHIP, Ohio —Before he was accused of lying to Bath Township about being shot in March, former Navy SEAL Christopher M. Heben lied about forging prescriptions for steroids.
Heben, 44, currently faces charges of obstructing justice and falsification in Akron Municipal Court, accused of lying about the circumstances surrounding the shooting in the parking lot of a Bath Township business.
Heben was charged in 2007 with forging a doctor's signature on prescriptions for steroids. Lake County Common Pleas Judge Vincent Culotta ordered Heben to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after Heben requested to enter a treatment program in lieu of serving jail time.
Culotta denied Heben entrance to the program because he believed Heben lied to a psychiatrist about prescribing the steroids for himself. Culotta noted in his decision that Heben also forged the prescriptions for friends.
Heben admitted to committing three counts of forgery and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, community service and probation. The conviction prompted the Ohio State Medical Board to indefinitely suspend Heben's physician's assistant license.
Criminal investigation
The Lake County Narcotics Unit began its investigation into Heben on April 27, 2007. A pharmacist became suspicious after a woman dropped off a prescription for an anabolic steroid.
The pharmacist called the doctor listed on the prescription and faxed him a copy of the paperwork, according to the report. Dr. David Mungo told the pharmacist that he did not write the prescription and that the handwriting was Heben's. Mungo knew this because Heben worked as a physician's assistant at his Alliance practice.
The pharmacist called the number listed on the prescription. Within minutes, a man with a different voice claiming to be Mungo called back and told the pharmacist to cancel the prescription.
"It was later believed, but not confirmed, that the male on the telephone was Christopher Heben calling in response to the message left at the...residence and attempting to head the problem off before it came to the attention of Dr. Mungo," the investigator's report says.
Heben admitted to narcotics investigators that he wrote the fake prescription. Investigators said he wrote 16 fake prescriptions between July 3, 2006 and March 22, 2007. They were filled at pharmacies in Alliance and other locations throughout Lake County.
Heben told investigators that he originally prescribed himself the steroids because he felt sluggish at work and injected himself with the drug for several months, according to the investigator's report.
He said he also prescribed the steroids for three friends after they talked about being in their 40s and having less energy. The three men told investigators that they didn't know they were doing anything wrong. They were never charged.
SEAL indicted
A grand jury eventually indicted Heben. Heben asked Culotta to allow him to participate in a drug treatment diversion program.
Dr. James Fabian of Cleveland analyzed Heben. The full results of Fabian's evaluation remain sealed. The judge denied Heben's request to enter treatment because Heben told the psychiatrist that he only prescribed the steroids for personal use, omitting that he prescribed drugs to his friends.
The judge also pointed to Heben's 1994 Cuyahoga County conviction for attempted illegal processing of drug documents and attempted deception to obtain a dangerous drug.
Heben eventually pleaded no contest to three counts of forgery and was adjudicated guilty.
License suspended
The state medical board suspended Heben's physician assistant's license in 2008. Heben testified during a hearing that he believed he made a mistake.
"I was completely forthright with the narcotics detectives and told them the nuances of— of what I did and why," Heben said, according to the report. "And, you know, that was unacceptable behavior for myself even at that time. So I said, you know, I need to take a step back and put myself on a shelf and figure out why this happened."
His license was suspended indefinitely in 2009 and he violated the terms of the agreement with the medical board by failing to take scheduled drug screenings.
Heben told the board in 2008 that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from serving in combat with the SEALs between 1998 and 2006. The state board again reprimanded him in 2012 for failing to show up for periodic drug screenings.
A 2012 medical board report, however, concluded Heben did not have a drug or alcohol dependency. The determination was made by a doctor after a three-day evaluation at a Rock Creek facility.
He testified post-traumatic stress disorder played "a pretty big role in why I wasn't thinking clearly at that time," and why he forged the prescriptions.
Despite the conviction and license suspension, Heben continued to work as a national security analyst and a spokesman for a Montrose car dealership.
The Montrose Auto Group said in a prepared statement on Thursday that it planned to conduct an internal review to determine Heben's future with the group. The company said it will continue its outreach program to military service members regardless of Heben's participation.
"We are surprised and deeply concerned about the accusations against Christopher Heben," the statement says. "It would be inappropriate to comment on the case until a court of law hears both sides and issues a decision. The last thing we would want is to say or do anything that would jeopardize anyone's right to a fair hearing."
http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2014/09/ex-seal_accused_of_lying_about.html
http://imgick.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/width620/img/akron/photo/15762246-mmmain.jpg
Former Navy SEAL Christopher Heben is accused of lying about the circumstances of his shooting.
September 04, 2014
http://ads.cleveland.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_lx.ads/www.cleveland.com/akron/2014/09/ex-seal_accused_of_lying_about.html/L23/447787408/StoryAd/CLEVELANDLIVE/HospiceMC04_CL_RoS_StoryAd/jc7148.html/474f6b317246514b4b31384144546f58?_RM_EMPTY_&bt=7052&bt=7051&bt=7050&bt=7049&tag0=bath-township&tag1=bath-township-shooting&tag2=christopher-heben&tag3=christopher-mark-heben
BATH TOWNSHIP, Ohio —Before he was accused of lying to Bath Township about being shot in March, former Navy SEAL Christopher M. Heben lied about forging prescriptions for steroids.
Heben, 44, currently faces charges of obstructing justice and falsification in Akron Municipal Court, accused of lying about the circumstances surrounding the shooting in the parking lot of a Bath Township business.
Heben was charged in 2007 with forging a doctor's signature on prescriptions for steroids. Lake County Common Pleas Judge Vincent Culotta ordered Heben to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after Heben requested to enter a treatment program in lieu of serving jail time.
Culotta denied Heben entrance to the program because he believed Heben lied to a psychiatrist about prescribing the steroids for himself. Culotta noted in his decision that Heben also forged the prescriptions for friends.
Heben admitted to committing three counts of forgery and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, community service and probation. The conviction prompted the Ohio State Medical Board to indefinitely suspend Heben's physician's assistant license.
Criminal investigation
The Lake County Narcotics Unit began its investigation into Heben on April 27, 2007. A pharmacist became suspicious after a woman dropped off a prescription for an anabolic steroid.
The pharmacist called the doctor listed on the prescription and faxed him a copy of the paperwork, according to the report. Dr. David Mungo told the pharmacist that he did not write the prescription and that the handwriting was Heben's. Mungo knew this because Heben worked as a physician's assistant at his Alliance practice.
The pharmacist called the number listed on the prescription. Within minutes, a man with a different voice claiming to be Mungo called back and told the pharmacist to cancel the prescription.
"It was later believed, but not confirmed, that the male on the telephone was Christopher Heben calling in response to the message left at the...residence and attempting to head the problem off before it came to the attention of Dr. Mungo," the investigator's report says.
Heben admitted to narcotics investigators that he wrote the fake prescription. Investigators said he wrote 16 fake prescriptions between July 3, 2006 and March 22, 2007. They were filled at pharmacies in Alliance and other locations throughout Lake County.
Heben told investigators that he originally prescribed himself the steroids because he felt sluggish at work and injected himself with the drug for several months, according to the investigator's report.
He said he also prescribed the steroids for three friends after they talked about being in their 40s and having less energy. The three men told investigators that they didn't know they were doing anything wrong. They were never charged.
SEAL indicted
A grand jury eventually indicted Heben. Heben asked Culotta to allow him to participate in a drug treatment diversion program.
Dr. James Fabian of Cleveland analyzed Heben. The full results of Fabian's evaluation remain sealed. The judge denied Heben's request to enter treatment because Heben told the psychiatrist that he only prescribed the steroids for personal use, omitting that he prescribed drugs to his friends.
The judge also pointed to Heben's 1994 Cuyahoga County conviction for attempted illegal processing of drug documents and attempted deception to obtain a dangerous drug.
Heben eventually pleaded no contest to three counts of forgery and was adjudicated guilty.
License suspended
The state medical board suspended Heben's physician assistant's license in 2008. Heben testified during a hearing that he believed he made a mistake.
"I was completely forthright with the narcotics detectives and told them the nuances of— of what I did and why," Heben said, according to the report. "And, you know, that was unacceptable behavior for myself even at that time. So I said, you know, I need to take a step back and put myself on a shelf and figure out why this happened."
His license was suspended indefinitely in 2009 and he violated the terms of the agreement with the medical board by failing to take scheduled drug screenings.
Heben told the board in 2008 that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from serving in combat with the SEALs between 1998 and 2006. The state board again reprimanded him in 2012 for failing to show up for periodic drug screenings.
A 2012 medical board report, however, concluded Heben did not have a drug or alcohol dependency. The determination was made by a doctor after a three-day evaluation at a Rock Creek facility.
He testified post-traumatic stress disorder played "a pretty big role in why I wasn't thinking clearly at that time," and why he forged the prescriptions.
Despite the conviction and license suspension, Heben continued to work as a national security analyst and a spokesman for a Montrose car dealership.
The Montrose Auto Group said in a prepared statement on Thursday that it planned to conduct an internal review to determine Heben's future with the group. The company said it will continue its outreach program to military service members regardless of Heben's participation.
"We are surprised and deeply concerned about the accusations against Christopher Heben," the statement says. "It would be inappropriate to comment on the case until a court of law hears both sides and issues a decision. The last thing we would want is to say or do anything that would jeopardize anyone's right to a fair hearing."
http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2014/09/ex-seal_accused_of_lying_about.html