¶ 1 Aрpellant Mark Stuart Fremd, M.D., appeals from his judgment of sentence of 18 to 36 months of imprisonment plus 10 years probation following his convictions in Fayette County for three counts of prescribing and/or delivering controlled substances outside the scope of treatment
¶ 2 The сonvictions followed a four-day jury trial, encompassing Fayette County Criminal Action No. 931 of 2001, No. 386 of 2002 and No. 387 of 2002. By order dated May 21, 2002, the trial court consolidated the actions upon consideration of the senior deputy attorney general’s petition to consolidate and the appellant’s failure to appear and object. The charges in each of the criminal cases were brought pursuant to two presentments from multicounty investigating grand juries. The charges arose from conduct occurring in Connells-ville, Fayette County, and in Bethel Park, Allegheny County, which are two of the three locations in which appellant had offices.
¶ 3 At trial, evidence was presented that appellant billed insurance carriers for medical services never performed, gave prescriptions and dispensed drugs to persons who did not medically need them, gave prescriptions to persons for individuals that appellant never examined, solicited sex as payment for drugs and medical treatments, and solicited a person to fill narсotics prescriptions written by appellant, sell the narcotics on the street and share the profits with appellant. Following the denial of his post-sentence Motion for New Trial and/or Arrest of Judgment, appellant appealed.
¶ 4 On appeal, appellant raises the following issues:
1. Should the court have arrested judgment on the charge of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance, 18 Pa.C.S.A. 902(a); 35 P.S. 780-113(a)(30) in that appellant was a licensed practitioner at the time?
2. Should the court arrest judgment on all cases and counts of cases involving criminal conspiracy wherein the conspiracy was formulated and began in Allegheny County and all of the overt acts occurred in Allegheny County?
3. Should the court arrest judgment at No. 387 of 2002, Count 2, conspiracy with Janet Matey to commit insurance fraud and Count 4 of No. 386 of 2002, conspiracy with Janet Matey to facilitate acquisition of a controlled substance where [appellant] was the only person charged with the conspiracy?
4. Should the jury have made the factual determination as to what dollar amount the aggregation of the six insurance frauds totaled out to be rather than the court when the amount of money lossed determined the offense gravity score?
5. Did Bethel Park police officer Randolph Kopler entrap [appellant] into prescribing narcotic pills for Ko-pler’s girlfriend without first examining her?
6. Did the court error [sic] when it sentenced [appellant] on the narcotics conviction based upon a policy inFayette County that all first offenders receive the same sentence?
Brief for Appellant at 2.
¶ 5 Appellant’s first issue on apрeal concerns whether he, as a licensed physician, can be convicted for solicitation of a violation of section 113(a)(30) of the Pennsylvania Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (“Drug Act”). In furtherance of this argument, appellant claims that section 113(a)(14), which applies to licensed practitioners, would have been the appropriate charge. This issue is one of statutory interpretation, as to which our scope of review is plenary.
See Gus-tine Uniontown
Assocs.,
Ltd. v. Anthony Crane Rental, Inc.,
¶ 6 Although the language of 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30) indicatеs that it governs the conduct of “a person not registered under this act, or a practitioner not registered or licensed by the appropriate State board,” we agree with the trial court that this issue is controlled by
Commonwealth v. Gordon,
¶ 7 The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed the order of the Superior Court, rejecting the pharmacist’s “assertion that his status as a licensed pharmacist qualifies him for the ‘practitioner’ exemption without regard to the nature of the transaction involved.”
See id.
at 487,
Our analysis of the entire Act compels the conclusion that the Legislature did not intend that an individual could, by obtaining a license as a pharmacist, then engage in conduct far from the trappings of the pharmacy and its business, which amounts to no more than an illicit, clandestine, street transaction, and then use the license as a shield to avoid prosecution for such conduct. ... Our reading of the Act convinces us that the separate systems [for regulating practitioners versus non-practitioners] are distinguished according to the nature of the transaction and the status of the individual involved. ... When a licensed pharmacist acts like a street pusher, he is not a “practitioner” and can be prosecuted under §§ 780-113(a)(16) and (30).
Id.
at 487-88,
¶ 8 The Supreme Court also rejected the pharmacist’s claim that he should have been prosecuted under 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(14).
Id.
at 488,
¶ 9 In the instant action, appellant’s conviction for solicitation to deliver a controlled substance under 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30) was supported at trial by the following evidence: Tina Marie Stockman was one of appellant’s patients. Appellant treated Ms. Stockman, the live-in girlfriend of appellant’s brother-in-law, for problems with her neck, shoulder and lower back. In the spring of 1999, Ms. Stock-man was having financial problems and appellant suggested that she could sell Dilaudid, a controlled substance. Appellant suggested that Ms. Stockman could sell the Dilaudid for $20 a pill, keep $10 and give him $10. Appellant gave Ms. Stock-man three prescriptions for Dilaudid. Ms. Stockman never sold the drugs and neither she nor appellant received any money for them. N.T. Day Two of Jury Trial Proceedings, 4/9/03, at 136-37, 139-42, 145.
¶ 10 Consistent with the holding of Gordon, we find that the mere fact that appellant is a licensed physician does not preclude him from being prosecuted for solicitation of a violation of section 113(a)(30) of the Drug Act. Further, although appellant attempts to distinguish Gordon based on the existence of a doctor-patient relationship between him and Ms. Stockman, the Commonwealth presented evidence indicating that the specific conduct charged under section 113(a)(30) was unrelated to appellant’s treatment of Ms. Stockman as a patient and, therefore, not in the course of his professional practice. Accordingly, appellant was not precluded, as a matter of law, from being convicted for solicitation of a violation of section 113(a)(30) of the Drug Act.
¶ 11 Appellant next claims that the trial court should have arrested the judgments on five specific counts 7 because the alleged criminal conduct relating to those counts occurred in Allegheny County and, consequently, the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas did not have jurisdiction. Appellant first raised this issue in his Motion for a New Trial and/or Arrest of Judgment, where he claimed that the trial court did not have “subject matter jurisdiction.” In his Supplemental Motion for a New Trial/Arrest of Judgment, appellant generally alleged that the trial court did not have “jurisdiction.” Based on the record, the first time appellant made any reference to venue was in his appellate brief.
¶ 12 Appellant’s claim that the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas did not have subject matter jurisdiction over criminal conduct occurring in Allegheny County is without merit. “[A]ll courts of common pleas have statewide subject matter jurisdiction in cases arising under the Crimes Code.”
Commonwealth v. Bethea,
¶ 13 In his third issue, appellant claims that the judgment on two of his conspiracy convictions should be аrrested because he was the only person charged with the conspiracy. In other words, appellant challenges whether a criminal defendant can be convicted of conspiracy when none of the alleged co-conspirators have been charged. This issue involves a question of law, for which our scope of review is plenary.
See Commonwealth v. Cruz,
¶ 14 Although this issue appears to be one of first impression, we are guided by precedential decisions of both this Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. First, we note that the statute on conspiracy provides:
A person is guilty of conspiracy with another person or persons to commit a crime if with the intent of promoting or facilitating its commission he: (1) agrees with such other person or persons that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct which constitutes such crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime; or (2) agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 903. Thus, the express language of the statute does not require that an alleged co-conspirator be charged or convicted of the conspiracy. Moreover, our Courts have held that the acquittal of a defendant’s sole alleged co-conspirator does not preclude prosecution and conviction of that defendant on a conspiracy charge.
See Commonwealth v. Campbell,
¶ 15 Relying on these cases, as well as cases supporting the rule of consistency
8
(which has basically been overruled by the above-cited cases), appellant wrongfully concludes that “at least two people must initially be charged with criminal conspiracy in order for the prosecution to go forward.” Brief for Appellant at 15. To the contrary, we find that these cases indicate that the path of prosecution, or non-prosecution, of a defendant’s alleged eo-conspirator(s) is irrelevant as to the prosecution of the defendant. Rather, all that is requirеd is proof of the elements of conspiracy, one of which is that the defendant conspired with one or more persons to
¶ 16 Appellant’s fourth issue — that the jury should have determined the aggregate amount associated with the insurance fraud convictions because that amount determined the offense gravity score — also lacks merit. First, the trial court properly recognized that the crime of insurance fraud is a felony of the third degree. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4117(d); N.T. Sentence Proceedings, 5/23/03, at 27, 30, 32-36. Second, although the trial court referenced the aggregate amount and indicated that it would result in a gravity score of eight
if
the convictions were for theft, the court did not assign a gravity score of eight. Rather, for each of the insurance fraud convictions for which a sentence was imposed, the trial court assigned a gravity score of four, which is the gravity score assigned to insurance fraud under the sentencing guidelines. 204 Pa.Code § 303.15; N.T. Sentence Proceedings, 5/23/03, at 24-25, 27, 30, 32-36. Further, the sentences imposed for the insurance fraud convictions fell within the standard range indicated in the sentencing guidelines.
9
Accordingly, the rule expressed in
Apprendi v. New Jersey,
¶ 17 Appellant’s claim that he was entrapped as a matter of law also fails. “Whether an entrapment has occurred is normally a question for the jury unless the evidence points to only one possible conclusion; in that case, it may be decided as a matter of law.”
Commonwealth v. Lebo,
¶ 18 Appellant’s entrapment claim relates to one of his convictions for prescribing controlled substances outside the scope of treatment principles. The particular conviction at issue arose from appellant’s writing several prescriptions for narcotics in the name of Jamie McClelland, without ever physically examining her or taking her medical history. McClelland’s boyfriend, Randall Kopler, requested the prescriptions, which appellant gave directly to Kopler. At the time, Kopler was one of appellant’s patients and a Bethel Park police officer.
¶ 19 At trial, Kopler admitted that he was developing a “pill problem” while he was appellant’s patient. N.T. Day Two of Jury Trial Prоceedings, 4/9/03, at 132. Kopler testified that he was worried about the number of prescriptions for controlled substances that he was getting, so he told appellant that McClelland had back pain and asked for prescriptions for her.
Id.
at 112-15, 126-27. Appellant gave Kopler the prescriptions, which Kopler filled and took himself.
Id.
at 113, 123-24. Appellant knew that Kopler was a police officer.
Id.
at 118-19; N.T. Day Three of Jury
¶20 Appellant bases his entrapment claim on the evidence that Kopler was a police officer, requested the prescriptions for his girlfriend, and allegedly told appellant that it was legal for appellant to give Kopler prescriptions in McClelland’s name. Appellant does not allege nor does the record reveal any evidence that Kopler was acting “for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission оf an offense” or that Kopler was acting in his capacity as a police officer. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 313(a). Instead, the record shows that Kopler was acting for his own purposes.
¶ 21 The issue, then, is whether the conduct of a police officer acting in a personal capacity and not for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of a crime can serve as the basis for an entrapment defense.
¶22 The statute for entrapment provides:
§ 313. Entrapment
(a) General rule. — A public law enforcement official or a person acting in cooperation with such an official perpetrates an entrapment if for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of an offense, he induces or encourages another person to engage in conduct constituting such offense by either:
(1) making knowingly false representations designed to induce the belief that such conduct is not prohibited; or
(2) employing methods of persuasion or inducement which create a substantial risk that such an offense will be committed by persons other than those who are ready to commit it.
(b) Burden of proof. — Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a person prosecuted for an offense shall be acquitted if he proves by a preponderance of evidence that his conduct occurred in response to an entrapment.
18 Pa.C.S.A. § 313 (emphasis added). The entrapment statute’s express language requires that the public law enforcement official or person acting in cooperation with such an official, who allegedly induced or encouraged the accused to engage in criminal cоnduct, be acting “for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of an offense.” 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 313(a). Accordingly, we hold that a public law enforcement official acting in a personal capacity and not for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the commission of a crime cannot serve as the basis for an entrapment defense. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 313(a);
see also Commonwealth v. Lindenmuth,
¶ 23 In his brief, appellant also argues that the police conduct was so out
¶ 24 Finally, appellant contends that the trial court erred in sentencing him to the “high end of the standard range for the drug conviction in accordance with a local policy of Fayette County” and then refusing to modify said sentence.
10
Appellant’s challenge goes to the discretionary aspects of his sentence,
11
so his right of appeal on this issue is not absolute.
See Commonwealth v. Bishop,
¶ 25 Even if appellant had met the requirements for review, we would not grant relief on this claim. “Sentencing is within the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be disturbed absent a showing of abuse of discretion.”
See Wright,
¶26 The sentencing record shows that the trial court had the benefit of a presen-tence report and relied on the sentencing guidelines.
12
Importantly, in its opinion, the trial court recognized that the guide
¶ 27 Judgment of sentence affirmed.
Notes
. 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(14).
. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4117(a)(2) and (a)(6).
. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 902(a); 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(30).
. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4117(a)(3).
. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 903(a); 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(12).
. Although not at issue in the instant appeal, section 113(a)(16), like section 113(a)(30), prohibits certain conduct “by a person not registered under this act, or a practitioner not registered or licensed by the appropriate State board.” 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(16) and (30).
. The five counts for which appellant raises this issue are Count VII of No. 931 of 2001, Count I of No. 386 of 2002, and Count II of No. 386 of 2002, each for prescribing and/or delivering controlled substances outside the scope of treatment principles; Count IV of No. 386 of 2002 for conspirаcy to acquire or obtain possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge; and Count II of No. 387 of 2002 for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.
. The rule of consistency requires consistent verdicts for co-conspirators. This rule developed from the pre-twentieth century English appellate system, where appellate review was limited and did not include review of the evidence presented at trial. Thus, an inconsistent verdict in a conspiracy trial was not reviewable for sufficiency of the evidence. The rule of consistency developed to protect defendants from jury prejudice or misapplication of the law.
See Campbell,
. For each insurance fraud conviction for which a sentence was imposed, the trial court imposed a sentence of 9-18 months. Each of these sentences were to run concurrently and four of five of them also included a two-year term of probation, each of which was to run consecutively to all other sentences. The standard sentencing range for a conviction of insurance fraud, accounting for appellant's prior record score of one, is restorative sanctions to 9 months of incarceration. 204 Pa. Code § 303.15 and 16.
.Appellant did not specifically identify which "drug conviction” this alleged error concerns. However, appellant’s brief refers to a "nine month sentence" and there is only one drug-related conviction for which a sentence of 9 to 18 months was imposed. Although that is most likely the sentence of which аppellant complains, our discussion will include each of the drug-related convictions for which a sentence was imposed.
. Appellant's sentences were all within the statutory máximums for his convictions. In fact, each of his sentences fell within the standard range indicated in the sentencing guidelines.
. During sentencing, the trial court stated:
Well, I have spent some considerable time reviewing the guidelines and the law and sentences that have been imposed on other individuals, and it is difficult to equate the crimes that are charged here with the typesof crimes that аre commonly seen in this court. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that a number of these crimes have been — have resulted in convictions in Fay-ette County. Yet, the sentencing guidelines give me a great deal of guidance.
N.T. Sentence Proceedings, 5/23/03, at 24 (emphasis added).
. Appellant was only sentenced for three of the five drug-related convictions: 3 to 6 months for one count of delivering controlled substances outside the scope of treatment principles; 6 to 12 months for one count of solicitation to deliver controlled substances; and 9 to 18 months for one count of prescribing and/or delivering controlled substances outside the scоpe of treatment principles. The standard range for each of these convictions, accounting for appellant's prior record score of one, is 1 to 12 months.
. All sentences of incarceration were imposed concurrently except for one 9 to 18 month sentence for prescribing and/or delivering controlled substances outside the scope of treatment principles, which was imposed consecutively to one of the 9 to 18 month sentences imposed for one of the insurance fraud convictions.
