BURLINGTON — A former Grantham physician was sentenced to eight months in federal prison and ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution for unlawfully distributing opioid medication to clients at drug rehabilitation clinics that he co-owned with another former Upper Valley doctor.

Adnan Khan ran the now-defunct New England Medicine and Counseling Associates, which had drug rehab clinics in northern New England locations.

He was indicted last year and charged with prescribing drugs to NEMCA patients in exchange for cash payments despite knowing they were diverting their prescriptions for other illicit purposes. He pleaded guilty in November.

Khan’s sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. on Monday in Burlington was less than the 10 months of incarceration that prosecutors sought. At the same time, the judge rejected the “non-custodial sentence” of probation, community service and home confinement sought by Khan’s attorneys, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors said that Khan used the ill-gotten proceeds from drug sales to buy an airplane and multiple homes across New England.

Khan’s lawyers, in arguing against prison time, said he “accepts full responsibility for his actions” and has “demonstrated that he can positively contribute to the community as a law-abiding citizen,” according to a pre-sentencing petition submitted to the court.

In a letter to the judge, Khan acknowledged that his conviction “precludes me from returning to the practice of medicine but it does not prevent me from finding other ways to contribute meaningfully,” noting that he has been volunteering in his community with “construction work building and renovating houses.”

Calling his conviction “a turning point,” Khan wrote that he vows to “emerge from this period with the skills, knowledge, and humility necessary to rebuild my life and contribute positively to the world around me.”

Khan’s incarceration will be followed by two years of supervised release. He has been ordered to report to federal prison May 29.

Federal prosecutors argued that Khan, who was 48 years old when he was indicted in April 2024, was engaged in a “drug dealing conspiracy” masquerading as a drug addiction treatment clinic. He took advantage of vulnerable patients who were willing to forego their Medicaid coverage and instead pay cash for their opioid prescriptions that Khan knew some were selling to other users, prosecutors said.

Khan admitted that the scheme demanded cash payments for purported office visits to receive drugs and that he falsified medical records to justify the illegal prescribing practices.

Khan had been business partners with Steven Powell, a former New London Hospital doctor who has pleaded guilty in a separate health care scheme in New Hampshire and is awaiting sentencing.

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.