SAN DIEGO – OptumRx Inc., a prescription drug benefit provider, has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve allegations that it improperly filled certain opioid prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The settlement resolves an investigation initiated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into whether, between April 2013...

SAN DIEGO – Palomar Health, a California public health care district located in San Diego County, has paid $250,000 to resolve allegations of diversion of fentanyl from one of its facilities and failure to keep accurate records for fentanyl. Palomar Health is California’s largest health care district, with campuses in...

SAN DIEGO - Dr. David J. Smith, a pain management physician, and his office manager, Julia Ann Oertle, are charged in a federal grand-jury indictment with perpetuating a long-running scheme to commit healthcare fraud and to manufacture and distribute adulterated fentanyl. Smith made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate...

SAN DIEGO – San Diego’s Balboa Pharmacy has paid $105,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally dispensed opioids and other dangerous drugs to its patients, according to a settlement agreement signed by Balboa Pharmacy and the United States. The settlement stems from the United States’ continued efforts to combat the...

Dallas - The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has agreed to pay $4.5 million to resolve allegations that its violations of the Controlled Substances Act allowed hospital staff to divert fentanyl and other dangerous drugs from the hospital, announced DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez. The...

DALLAS– The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 21st National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers free and anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. According to a report published by the...

DALLAS – The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States, for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses. The charges...

SAN DIEGO – San Diego area pain clinic doctor Brenton Wynn, M.D., has paid $200,000 to resolve allegations that he illegally prescribed opioids and other dangerous drugs to his patients, according to a settlement agreement signed by Dr. Wynn and the United States. The settlement stems from the United States’...

DALLAS – An Ohio man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced today by Eduardo A. Chavez, Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas. Austin Seymour, 26, of Uniontown, Ohio, pleaded guilty on Jan. 26, 2021, to conspiracy to distribute...

DALLAS - An Arlington physician has been convicted of drug crimes, announced today by DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez Following five days of trial, a federal jury convicted physician Clinton Battle, 68, of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of distribution...