Common Compounds Attorney Seeks Trial Delay

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An attorney for the former owner of a medical supply and billing company in Rogers who is facing federal charges has asked for another delay in the case.

Shane Wilkinson of Bentonville, the attorney representing Hunter Matthew Burroughs, asked that his client’s three-week jury trial, set to begin on Oct. 16, be pushed back.

The reason? Wilkinson’s oldest daughter is expected to compete in her final high school conference and state volleyball tournaments, according to Wilkinson’s motion filed in May in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

He said both tournaments are out of town, making it impossible to attend the trial and the games. Wilkinson said he learned of the conflict shortly after the trial date was reset in April. A ruling on Wilkinson’s motion hadn’t been made as of Thursday.

On April 24, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks reset the trial to October because otherwise Burroughs’ attorneys wouldn’t have enough time to prepare for the case that was set to start on June 12.

A joint motion filed in April to continue the case said that discovery produced more than 1 million documents and more time was needed to prepare.

Burroughs, who owned Common Compounds Inc., also known as CCI Billing, and Stephen Keith Andrews, CCI’s former CEO, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and eight counts of wire fraud. Burroughs also is charged with another wire fraud count. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment alleges that Burroughs, Andrews and others tied to the company recruited physicians to prescribe pain creams and patches to their workers’ compensation patients by offering them a split of the profits from billing insurers, typically 50%, according to the U.S. attorney for Arkansas’ Western District.