WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered an Elkin, North Carolina, pharmacy to pay a $500,000 penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and its pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed...

NEW BERN, N.C. – A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous, published opinion affirming former physician Jong Whan Kim’s conviction and sentence for operating a pill mill in Tabor City. The Fourth Circuit’s decision was the first published opinion by the Court upholding a...

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Dr. Mark S.T. Armitage, a physician practicing with Pelican Family Medicine in Wilmington, North Carolina, agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act. Dr. Armitage, who previously surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration to prescribe controlled substances, further agreed not to...

ATLANTA - Thomas Ukoshovbera A. Gbenedio has been convicted by a federal jury of illegally dispensing and distributing controlled substances from his pharmacy. “Removing and ultimately eliminating healthcare providers who unlawfully dispense pharmaceutical products for non-medical reasons is an important part of DEA’s mission,” said Special Agent in Charge of...

MACON, Ga. – A federal jury convicted a Macon resident with a lengthy criminal history of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin and Tramadol, as well as illegally possessing a firearm and possessing a gun in furtherance of drug trafficking this afternoon. Kelvin Henry, 56, of Macon, was found...

SAN DIEGO – Egisto Salerno, M.D., a San Diego resident, was sentenced to 18 months in custody by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Ann Bashant for causing the illegal distribution of an opioid pain medication commonly known as Norco or Vicodin. Salerno, whose medical practice was located on El Cajon Boulevard...

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - John Michael “Mike” Gowder, James Heaton, and George David Gowder have been sentenced to federal prison. Both Mike Gowder and Heaton were convicted on October 24, 2019, after a two-week jury trial on 102 counts related to illegally prescribing and obtaining more than 15,000 doses of prescription...

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - A pharmacist who owned and ran Fulghum Pharmacy in Baxley, Ga. was sentenced today to 48 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy that involved health care fraud and illegal distribution of opioids. Ray Ashley Dixon, R.Ph., 42, of Baxley, Georgia, was sentenced by...