PENSACOLA, FLA – Alexandra M. Christensen, 31, Lindsay N. McCray (also known as Lindsay Rogers), 42, Heather T. Bradley (also known as Heather Thomas), 37, and Jennifer E. Purves, 39, all of Pensacola, Fla., pleaded guilty in federal court to charges in connection with the unlawful diversion of controlled substances...

MIAMI – On January 12, a Miami federal court jury convicted a doctor of conspiracy to unlawfully dispense and distribute controlled substances, and six counts of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances. The conviction followed a seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn. Under federal law, a physician is authorized...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Dr. George Barrio, a pain management physician who formerly practiced medicine at the NeuroMedical Institute in Panama City, agreed to pay $225,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients. The settlement was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Scott Andrew Hollington, M.D. (57, St. Augustine) with 10 counts of distribution of controlled substances and one (1) count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. If convicted, Hollington faces a maximum penalty of 20...

WASHINGTON – A federal court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting a Tampa-area clinic, its operators and a doctor from administering, dispensing or distributing any controlled substances, including issuing prescriptions for opioids, the Department of Justice announced. In a complaint filed on Oct. 11 and unsealed Oct. 14, the United...

WASHINGTON – A federal court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting a Tampa-area physician from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced today. In a complaint filed on July 18, and unsealed yesterday, the United States alleges that Dr. Neelam Taneja Uppal unlawfully wrote opioid prescriptions...

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered a Tampa-area pain management clinic to close and directed the clinic’s owners and its former physician to collectively pay $600,000 in civil penalties pursuant to agreed resolutions in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Justice Department announced today. In...

FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, of Naples, Florida. to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. The court also ordered Abraham to forfeit the following items to the United...

MIAMI - A federal court in Florida ordered a Tampa-area pharmacy shut down and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District...

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Defendants previously indicted and later convicted in multiple cases for their participation in an opioid, methamphetamine, and cocaine distribution ring operating in Okaloosa County, Fla., were sentenced last week in the Northern District of Florida. The prosecutions were the result of a large-scale multi-agency investigation spearheaded by...