Albuquerque, New Mexico – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration El Paso Field Division and United Against Fentanyl (UAF) Rio Rancho Chapter will host a local Walk for Lives 2026 event at Haynes Community Center and Park on July 11, 2026 from 4-6 p.m. in support of DEA’s Fentanyl Free America...

El Paso, Texas – DEA and its local law enforcement partners collected 4,796 pounds of unused medications during the 30th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 25, 2026. “I had the pleasure of visiting multiple locations in El Paso and saw the overwhelming response from our community,” said...

Note: View the Civil Complaint ALBUQUERQUE – The United States has filed a civil complaint in federal court alleging that a New Mexico psychologist unlawfully prescribed controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. In a complaint filed in federal court, the United States...

EL PASO, Texas – An El Paso man was sentenced in federal court to 188 months in prison for distribution of fentanyl causing death, announced Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's El Paso Division and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons. According...

SEATTLE – A 36-year-old former anesthesiology resident at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Harborview and University of Washington Medical Centers was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to one year of supervised release including 200 hours of community service for diverting narcotic pain medication to his own use while...

EL PASO, Texas – Dr. Brian August, located in El Paso, has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act, the False Claims Act, and the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. The allegations involved the issuance of 255 controlled substance prescriptions to...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Dr. Brenda Brown-Carlson, a Portland veterinarian, was sentenced to 60 months of supervised probation on January 13, 2026, in Multnomah County Circuit Court as part of a plea agreement. Brown-Carlson admitted to diverting controlled substances for her personal use and replacing them with saline, impacting the treatment...

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...

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...