Joseph Edward Kepko.
Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
A local doctor of osteopathic medicine is facing criminal charges related to his prescribing practices after an investigation involving local, county, and federal law enforcement.
Dr. Joseph Edward Kepko, 64, of Middletown Township’s Levittown section, was charged Thursday with violating the state’s controlled substances, drug, device, and cosmetic act.
Authorities allege Kepko prescribed testosterone cypionate without a medically legitimate purpose.
Kepko’s arrest comes after an investigation launched on June 29, 2023, when the Drug Enforcement Administration contacted the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. The probe was initiated after a patient’s death by suicide
The charges stem from alleged crimes that took place between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 1, 2023, at Kepko’s office on Bensalem Boulevard in Bensalem Township.
Kepko also operates offices under the name Red Rose Rejuvenation in on Red Rose Drive in Levittown and in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.
Red Rose Rejuvenation boasts that it is “one of the largest anti-aging clinics in the country.” It advertises Botox, weight management, tattoo removal, hair transplants, scare reduction, face lifts, and laser hair removal.
A review of the Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitoring Program showed Kepko was issuing a high number of prescriptions for testosterone cypionate, an injectable controlled substance. The maximum recommended dosage for the 200 mg vial is no more than 400 milligrams every 14 days, authorities said.
Bucks County Detectives said they found that 712 male patients and 11 female patients received prescriptions for at least 800 mg of the drug for a 28-day period between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2023.
Court papers detail that 371 male patients had at least one prescription for over 800 mg for a 14-day period.
Investigators executed search warrants at Kepko’s offices in August 2023 and February 2024.
The first search at the doctor’s Levittown office involved county detectives, the DEA, and Middletown Township police.
File photo.
During the second search, which involved the county detectives and the DEA, Kepko stated that he was “relieved as he knows he has not over prescribed any of his patients this drug” and that he can prescribe up to 200mg per week and has never gone over that.
A doctor specializing in controlled substance prescribing reviewed a random sample of patient records for investigators.
The expert told law enforcement that most prescriptions reviewed were not for medically legitimate purposes in the usual course of professional practice.
The expert noted a lack of necessary blood work and pointed to the use of the anabolic steroid nandrolone, a drug banned in the U.S. for the last 30 years, as part of the “treatment protocol” for some patients, authorities said.
A later review of 32 patient files found 29 patients received testosterone prescriptions not in accordance with accepted treatment principles, officials said.
Kepko was previously looked at by federal authorities.
At the time of the settlement, Kepko told this news organization he had made a paperwork error and that the settlement was not due to anything “nefarious.”
“It won’t happen again,” Kepko said.
Kepko’s attorney, Michael Diamondstein, defended his client after he latest legal troubles.
“Dr. Kepko vehemently denies the allegations,” Diamondstein said. “He is a caring, capable, and dedicated doctor who has spent his life taking care of the residents of Bucks County. He looks forward to clearing his name.”
Kepko was released on $350,000 unsecured bail after being preliminarily arraigned before District Judge Michael Gallagher.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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