SPOKANE, Wash. –Dr. Duncan Lahtinen, a licensed physician, has paid $120,000.00 in penalties to resolve allegations that he wrote prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked legitimate medical purposes or were outside the usual course of his professional practice. Between 2017 and 2025, Dr. Lahtinen issued over 1,400 prescriptions for controlled...

Washington, DC – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is intensifying its fight against the deadly threat of synthetic opioids with the launch of Fentanyl Free America, a comprehensive enforcement initiative and public awareness campaign aimed at reducing both the supply and demand for fentanyl. This effort underscores DEA's unwavering commitment...

YAKIMA, Wash. – On November 14, 2025, a federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned an Indictment charging Anna Elperin, age 42, with 26 felony counts relating to prescriptions for controlled substances and Department of Transportation commercial driver’s licenses physical examinations Elperin wrote and performed at her...

SEATTLE, Wash.--Dr. Andrew Voegel-Podadera, 35, a resident physician at the University of Washington Medical School who worked at Seattle Children’s Hospital, UW Medicine, and Harborview Medical Center is charged with two counts of Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Deception, and Subterfuge. On June 24th, 2025, DEA Seattle Diversion...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced criminal charges against six defendants. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown . The charges are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law...

WASHINGTON -- Ndubuisi Joseph Okafor, M.D., 65, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 18 years in prison for illegally distributing prescriptions for narcotics in exchange for cash from his Northwest Washington D.C. medical clinic. A jury found Okafor guilty on Mar. 21, 2025, of...

SEATTLE, Wash.-- On June 20, 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revoked the DEA registration of registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) Scott Eric Hansen. Hansen’s state license was indefinitely suspended in 2024 after a finding that his ability to issue controlled substance prescriptions posed an immediate danger to public health and...

WASHINGTON D.C. – DEA and nearly 4,500 law enforcement agencies joined forces last month to dispose of more than 620,000 pounds of unneeded and expired medications in an effort to prevent drug misuse and abuse. The spring collection event marked DEA’s 28th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Locally, the...

Tacoma – A 61-year-old Auburn, Washington, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to twelve years in prison for his leadership role in a multi-state drug distribution ring announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Thomas Carver has a lengthy criminal history that includes multiple prior convictions related...

Spokane, Wash. - Mid-Valley Hospital and Clinic in Omak, Washington, agreed to pay a $15,000 Controlled Substances Act penalty and to institute corrective actions in regard to its pharmacy and controlled substances policy and procedures. To protect the public, the Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations place legal responsibilities...