A Manhattan Doctor who was indicted nearly a year ago on charges alleging he was operating a pill mill out of his Manhattan Pain and Spine clinic has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Michael P. Schuster, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

Schuster admitted in his plea that the crime occurred from April 2007 to August 2012, while he was doing business in Manhattan. In order to carry out daily operations at the clinic Schuster employed up to 12 employees at a time, none of whom had lawful authority to distribute controlled substances. Employees were allowed to distribute controlled substances to patients using blank prescription pads already signed by Schuster.

According to a release from U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom, investigators documented approximately 540 patients who received prescriptions for controlled substances while Schuster was out of the office.

Along with the prison sentence, Schuster agreed to pay restitution of $100,772 and a fine of $25,000. He also agreed to forfeit his clinic building at 1135 Westport Drive, a 2012 Ford pickup and more than $11,000 contained in two bank accounts. He also agreed to a forfeiture money judgement of $400,000.

Schuster also agreed to surrender his medical license, not to re-apply for a medical license in Kansas, to surrender his DEA registration number for prescribing controlled substances and not to re-apply for a DEA registration number.

Court documents showed the investigation began early in 2012 when the Riley County Police Department received reports that Schuster was issuing prescriptions for high dosages of scheduled drugs based on minimal or cursory physical examinations.