Bethesda doctor pleads guilty to unlawful distribution of controlled substances

Potomac’s Anissa Maroof indicted after FBI agents posed as patients

May 12, 2025 11:18 a.m.

A Bethesda-based physician pleaded guilty Friday to a federal charge of distributing and dispensing controlled substances between January 2019 and June 2022 outside of the scope of her professional practice and not for a “legitimate medical purpose,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Maryland said in a press release.

Anissa Maroof, 48, of Potomac was charged with distribution and dispensing of alprazolam, amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, and buprenorphine, according to court documents. She owned and operated Renewed Wellness Now at 5302 Westbard Circle in Bethesda, according to the practice’s website.

Maroof faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1 million, according to plea agreement documents. Maroof is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 19.

Robert Feitel, Maroof’s attorney, declined to comment to Bethesda Today on Friday afternoon. Bethesda Today was unable to reach Feitel again on Monday.

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According to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, alprazolam is commonly prescribed to manage panic and anxiety disorders. Dextroamphetamine and amphetamines are stimulants commonly used to treat ADHD, and buprenorphine is a synthetic opioid that is used to treat opioid use disorder.

In February 2024, Maroof was indicted on charges including seven counts of dispensing or distributing controlled dangerous substances outside of a professional practice and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, WUSA9 reported.

Maroof, a physician board certified in addiction psychiatry, was registered with and authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe controlled substances, according to the release.

Maroof specialized in treating anxiety, mood disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorders, according to the practice’s website. She also used a combination of therapy, medication management and other treatments with patients.

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According to the release, Maroof provided patients from West Virginia with prescriptions for controlled substances, such as alprazolam, amphetamine-dextroamphetamine, and buprenorphine. 

Among those patients were two FBI agents who posed as customers and recorded their visits with Maroof, according to court documents.

Maroof prescribed the medications without warning the patients about the risks of combining them and even when patients indicated they were selling their supply through “illicit channels,” the release states.

Maroof also regularly prescribed controlled substances to patients without providing them with therapy services, the release said. In addition, on “numerous occasions,” Maroof called in prescriptions to local pharmacies without seeing the patient and asked the patient to leave cash under her office door for the prescriptions.

According to Google, Renewed Wellness Medical Center is temporarily closed. Maroof did not immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s request for comment via phone call to the practice Monday morning.

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