The conviction and sentence of the owner of a Westbrook methadone clinic have been affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in Boston.

Dr. Mark Shinderman, who opened CAP Quality Care in 2001 and was the clinic’s director, was indicted by the federal grand jury in Portland in August 2005. In July 2006, he was found guilty on 25 counts of using a Drug Enforcement Agency registration number belonging to another physician, 24 counts of aiding the acquisition of controlled substances by deception, two counts of falsifying records and seven counts of creating false health care records.

Shinderman was sentenced in March 2007 to six months in prison and two years of supervised release, which included six months of home detention. He was also fined $35,800 and ordered to pay $619.62 in restitution to Maine Medicaid.

According to Shinderman’s attorney, Michael Cunniff, of McCloskey, Mina, Cunniff and Dilworth in Portland, Shinderman has completed his prison sentence and remains under house arrest in the Chicago area.

At this point, Cunniff said, Shinderman is “considering all of his options,” but also said it was unlikely that there would be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The grand jury indictment alleged that, between November 2001 and April 2002, Shinderman wrote prescriptions by using the name and DEA registration number of another doctor at the clinic. Under federal law, doctors writing prescriptions for controlled substances must have their own DEA registration. Silsby said while Shinderman did apply for a DEA registration, he was never issued one.

Because he wrote prescriptions using another doctor’s name and DEA registration and federal law dictates that pharmacies and health care providers keep accurate logs of who wrote the prescription, Shinderman was charged with falsifying prescription and health care records.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Cunniff said about decision from the Court of Appeals. Despite his conviction, Cunniff said, because of Shinderman’s work with people with substance abuse and mental disorders, “he is still a hero to many.”