SPOKANE, Wash.– Dr. Jacqueline Thomas, N.D., an East Wenatchee-based naturopathic doctor, and Dr. Rebecka Hoppins, an Edmonds-based naturopathic doctor, have each agreed to pay $16,500 to resolve allegations under the Controlled Substances Act that they improperly prescribed controlled substances. The Controlled Substances Act regulates certain drugs deemed to pose a...

EL PASO – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 22nd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This bi-annual event offers free, anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. “Disposing of unneeded medications can...

ALBANY, N.Y. – Vivian Letizia, age 63, of Stone Ridge, New York, pled guilty today to acquiring and obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, or subterfuge. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Timothy Foley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S...

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Prisma Health Midlands (“Prisma”) has agreed to pay a record $1 million to resolve allegations that it committed recordkeeping and dispensing violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). These requirements are designed to prevent the diversion of controlled substances. This civil settlement includes a memorandum of...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Mark Beale, 75, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, pleaded guilty on March 25 in federal court to unlawful dispensing and distributing of a schedule II controlled substance. Beale will remain on conditions of release pending sentencing. A federal grand jury indicted Beale on June 23, 2021. According...

TAMPA, Fla. – On March 16, 2022, Dr. Zachary Bird (51, Tampa) was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release, for structuring cash transactions to evade bank reporting requirements. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the...

Houston-A federal jury in the Southern District of Texas convicted a Texas pharmacy owner yesterday for unlawfully distributing controlled substances and laundering money from his now-shuttered pharmacies. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Clint Carr, 32, of Cypress, co-owned and operated CC Pharmacy in Houston, and CC...

CHICAGO – Robert Bell, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration - Chicago Division, announced that on March 3, 2022, DEA Chicago Diversion Investigators served an Immediate Suspension Order on Faris Abusharif, M.D., for allegedly committing acts that render the continued use of his DEA Registration inconsistent...

DANVILLE, Va. – A former registered nurse working at Sovah Health-Danville was sentenced today to 36 months in federal prison for tampering with consumer products (fentanyl and hydromorphone) and making false statements. Emilee Kathryn Poteat, 31, pleaded guilty in May 2021 to one count of tampering with consumer products (fentanyl...

Richland, Wash. – Judith K. Caporiccio, N.D., a Richland-based naturopathic doctor, has agreed to pay $70,096 to resolve allegations under the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act, which allege that she improperly prescribed controlled substances between July 2016 and July 2021. The Controlled Substances Act regulates certain drugs...