Houston physician and stepson sentenced for $1.2 million Jomori pill mill scheme
Dr. Oscar Lightner, 73, of Laredo, Texas, and his stepson Andres Martinez Jr., 29, also of Laredo, operated Jomori Health and Wellness, a purported Houston pain management clinic, as a pill mill. Lightner, the clinic's owner and physician, unlawfully prescribed combinations of hydrocodone, carisoprodol and alprazolam without a legitimate medical purpose in exchange for cash payments of $250 to $500. Martinez, the office manager, coordinated with crew leaders to bring in people, including individuals living in homeless shelters, to pose as patients and obtain the prescriptions. Over 14 months, Jomori took in more than $1.2 million in cash, and the scheme resulted in the unlawful distribution of more than 600,000 opioids and other controlled substances. A federal jury convicted Lightner on April 11, 2023 of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances and conspiracy; he was sentenced on December 4, 2023 to seven years in federal prison. Martinez was separately sentenced to 84 months.
- Year
- 2023
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $1.2 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Pill mill fraud
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-16
The facts, as recorded
- Dr. Oscar Lightner, 73, of Laredo, Texas, owned and worked as the physician at Jomori Health and Wellness, a purported Houston pain management clinic.
- Lightner unlawfully prescribed dangerous combinations of controlled substances, including hydrocodone, carisoprodol and alprazolam, to patients without a legitimate medical purpose, in exchange for cash payments ranging from $250 to $500.
- His stepson, Andres Martinez Jr., 29, also of Laredo, was Jomori's office manager and coordinated with crew leaders to bring in multiple people, including individuals living in homeless shelters, to pose as patients and obtain prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.
- Jomori received over $1.2 million in cash over 14 months through the scheme, which resulted in the unlawful distribution and dispensing of more than 600,000 opioids and other controlled substances.
- A federal jury convicted Lightner on April 11, 2023 of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances and conspiracy.
- Lightner was sentenced on December 4, 2023 to seven years in federal prison.
- Martinez was sentenced separately to 84 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, under Chief US District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.
- The DEA's Houston Division investigated the case; Trial Attorneys Monica Cooper and Andrew Tamayo of the Justice Department's Criminal Division Fraud Section prosecuted it.
Why this case matters
Jomori is the clearest documented example of the purely cash-for-pills version of a pill mill on this page: no insurance billing at all, just a doctor, a cash price list and a recruitment pipeline for “patients” who had no real medical need for anything prescribed. The recruitment detail, specifically bringing in people from homeless shelters, shows how the scheme manufactured a patient population from people least likely to be checked up on or to object.
A family operation
Lightner, the physician, and Martinez, his stepson and office manager, split the two halves of the scheme between them: Lightner supplied the medical cover, a real license and a real prescription pad, while Martinez ran the logistics of getting people in the door. Separating a family member’s role this cleanly is common in the cash-only variant, where there is no larger corporate structure to hide behind.
The caveat
A federal jury convicted Lightner after a trial, not a plea, and both he and Martinez have been sentenced. The facts above come directly from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s own press release on the sentencing, not from an unproven accusation.
Sources
- Physician Sentenced for $1.2M Pill Mill Scheme. US Drug Enforcement Administration. Accessed 2026-10-16. Supports: Every fact above: Lightner's age and location, the Jomori Health and Wellness clinic, his unlawful prescribing of hydrocodone, carisoprodol and alprazolam for $250 to $500 cash, Martinez's role coordinating crew leaders to bring in people from homeless shelters, the $1.2 million in cash and over 600,000 doses, Lightner's April 11, 2023 conviction, his December 4, 2023 sentence of seven years, Martinez's 84-month sentence, and the DEA investigation and prosecuting attorneys.