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...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa- A licensed pharmacist who created fake patient profiles to steal prescription drugs containing controlled substances was sentenced on April 15, to a three‑year term of probation. Ryan Paul Etscheid, age 40, from La Salle, Illinois, received the sentence after an October 27, 2025, guilty plea to acquiring...

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...

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...

OMAHA, Neb – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division joined forces with 155 law enforcement agencies across the five-state region to safely dispose of 20,628 pounds of unneeded and expired medications at the 28th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, April 26. Nationally, more than 620,000 pounds of prescription...

OMAHA, Neb – Five members of a Houston-based organization known for targeting rural pharmacies in Western Iowa and Western Nebraska face federal charges after breaking in and stealing pharmaceuticals in May and June of 2022 and 2023. These five people are part of a larger conspiracy being prosecuted out of...

El Paso – Together with its law enforcement partners, the Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 26th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event aims to remove unneeded prescriptions from homes to help prevent medication misuse by offering anonymous...

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis woman has pleaded guilty to misappropriating and adulterating prescription morphine while working as a pharmacist. According to court documents, on October 30, 2019, Jennifer Lee Draheim, 42, a pharmacist at Coburn’s Pharmacy in Ramsey, removed a bottle of morphine sulfate from the Scheduled Drug Cabinet and...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Joe’s Pharmacy of Peralta, New Mexico, has agreed to pay to the United States $50,000 representing civil penalties under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The agreement settles civil claims against Joe’s Pharmacy...

EL PASO, Texas – Dr. Herbert Nassour, a former physician in El Paso, has agreed to pay $350,000 under a civil settlement to resolve allegations he violated certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Dr. Nassour was a physician registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe and...