ST. LOUIS– The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in partnership with more than 4,200 law enforcement agencies, collected 645,636 pounds of unused medications October 24, as part of ongoing efforts to prevent drug misuse. This event marked DEA’s 31st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day with 4,212 collection sites nationwide...

Pensacola, Fla. – Dr. Edward Scott Morrison, 58, of Pensacola Beach, pleaded guilty in federal court to nineteen counts of unlawfully distributing or dispensing controlled substances. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the plea. U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This defendant repeatedly abused his...

Pensacola, Fla. – Dr. Twan Phanijphand, M.D., a gastroenterologist located in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). As part of the settlement, Dr. Phanijphand also agreed to not...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Missouri woman’s crimes to get illegal access to prescription narcotics resulted in the loss of her nursing license and gained her a lifetime ban from working at any hospital that receives federal funding. According to court documents, Brooke Haller, 41, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded...

CAPE GIRARDEAU – An Alabama man has admitted involvement in the burglary of a Kennett, Missouri pharmacy last year and the theft of 16,800 pills, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday. Cornelius Cardez Bray, 31, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of intent to steal a controlled...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Four individuals from California are facing charges in a multi-defendant conspiracy accused of burglarizing pharmacies and distributing multiple controlled substances throughout southern Illinois and across the country. Three of the four Defendants are in custody. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the following...

ST. LOUIS – A medical doctor and owner of an urgent care clinic in Columbia, Missouri was arrested Wednesday on an indictment that accuses him of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid and providing prescription drugs to friends, people suffering from substance use disorders and those with whom he had sexual relationships...

ST. LOUIS – Jerry Dale Leech, a chiropractor who committed healthcare fraud and issued fraudulent subscriptions for controlled substance, was sentenced to 100 months in prison and ordered to repay $4.7 million to Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare. Leech, 53, of Clayton, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis...

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross sentenced a former St. Louis County, Missouri pediatrician to 20 years in federal prison for prescribing pain pills and other controlled substances in exchange for sex acts, nude photos or cash. From at least 2014 through May of 2023, Craig A...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – Daniel Reif, Inc., doing business as The Medicine Shoppe, a retail pharmacy in Kansas City, Kansas, entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal government agreeing to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations the pharmacy violated the civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The...