MINNEAPOLIS – The physician linked to prescribing opioid painkillers to the iconic musician Prince in the days leading up to his fatal fentanyl overdose has reached a settlement in a federal civil case. Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg has agreed to pay $30,000 to resolve allegations of illegal prescription practices, according to publicly released documents. This settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office coincides with state prosecutors announcing their findings from a two-year investigation into Prince’s untimely death.
Prince, the celebrated artist, was found deceased at the age of 57 at his Paisley Park estate on April 21, 2016. The autopsy report confirmed that his death was caused by an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, significantly stronger than heroin. Federal and state authorities have been diligently investigating the source of the fatal fentanyl for nearly two years, yet no criminal charges have been filed in connection to the overdose itself.
However, federal prosecutors, in collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), accused Dr. Schulenberg, a family physician who had attended to Prince on at least two occasions before his death, of violating the Controlled Substances Act. The allegation stems from a prescription Dr. Schulenberg wrote on April 14, 2016, purportedly under someone else’s name.
The settlement agreement, formalized on Monday, avoids explicit mention of Prince or any direct reference to the Prince investigation. Nevertheless, previously released search warrants reveal that Dr. Schulenberg admitted to authorities that he prescribed oxycodone for Prince on April 14. To maintain “Prince’s privacy,” the prescription was allegedly issued under the name of Prince’s bodyguard and close confidant, Kirk Johnson. Dr. Schulenberg’s legal counsel has challenged this account.
Oxycodone, the active component in OxyContin, was not identified as the direct cause of Prince’s death. However, it belongs to the class of opioid painkillers that are significantly contributing to the ongoing overdose and addiction crisis across the nation, as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2014, nearly 2 million Americans were reported to be abusing or addicted to prescription opioids, including oxycodone.
A laboratory analysis report obtained by The Associated Press indicated that pills discovered in a prescription bottle at Paisley Park, bearing Kirk Johnson’s name, tested positive for oxycodone.
U.S. Attorney Greg Brooker emphasized the critical role of doctors in addressing the opioid crisis in a public statement. “Doctors are respected medical professionals and must be integral to the solution in our current opioid crisis,” Brooker stated. “As licensed professionals, they are accountable to the highest standards in their prescribing practices, especially concerning highly addictive painkillers. We are dedicated to employing all available resources to combat opioid abuse.”
The settlement document explicitly states that the agreement “is not an admission of facts or liability by Dr. Schulenberg.” Furthermore, in a separate communication to Dr. Schulenberg’s legal team, prosecutors affirmed that he is not currently a target in any ongoing criminal investigation.
As part of the settlement, Dr. Schulenberg is obligated to pay $30,000 to the U.S. government within 30 days. He has also consented to adhere to more stringent protocols for logging and reporting his prescriptions of controlled substances for a period of two years. These conditions include maintaining meticulous logs of all controlled substances prescribed, allowing the DEA to inspect these logs and other relevant records without prior notice, and granting the DEA on-demand access to his prescription history.
Prescribing medication under another person’s name is a violation of the law for medical practitioners. Conviction for such an offense can lead to the revocation of a doctor’s DEA registration—effectively preventing them from prescribing controlled substances—and potential disciplinary actions from their state medical board.
While the settlement prevents the DEA from revoking Dr. Schulenberg’s registration, continued compliance is mandatory. It remains uncertain whether the state medical board will initiate any disciplinary proceedings. Currently, Dr. Schulenberg’s medical license remains active, and there are no records of prior disciplinary actions against him.
A confidential toxicology report, accessed by The Associated Press in March, revealed alarmingly high concentrations of fentanyl in Prince’s system, specifically in his blood, liver, and stomach. The fentanyl concentration in Prince’s blood alone was measured at 67.8 micrograms per liter, a level described by external experts as “exceedingly high.”
Significantly, Prince did not have a prescription for fentanyl. Search warrants, unsealed approximately a year after his death, indicated that authorities conducted extensive searches of his residence, associates’ phone records, and email accounts in an attempt to trace the source of the drug. Numerous pills were discovered in various containers throughout Prince’s home, including counterfeit pills that were found to contain fentanyl.
Despite Prince’s public image of a healthy lifestyle, accounts from those close to him suggest he privately struggled with pain, a consequence of years of intense performing. Documents unsealed in the past year depict a man grappling with addiction to prescription opioids and experiencing withdrawal symptoms. These documents also reveal attempts made to provide him with assistance.
Affidavits from Paisley Park associates indicated that Prince had been “going through withdrawals, believed to be a result of prescription medication abuse.”
Just six days before his death, Prince experienced a medical emergency on a plane, necessitating an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois. He was revived with two doses of Narcan, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses.
On the day preceding his death, Paisley Park staff contacted Dr. Howard Kornfeld, a California-based addiction specialist, seeking urgent help for Prince. Dr. Kornfeld dispatched his son, Andrew Kornfeld, to Minnesota that same night. Andrew Kornfeld was among those who discovered Prince’s body. He was carrying buprenorphine, a medication used in the treatment of opioid addiction.
