SAN DIEGO – An indictment unsealed today charges Carlos Paez Pereda, aka “Carlitos,” aka “Carlitos Rugrats,” alleged high-ranking lieutenant and leader of a violent wing of the Sinaloa Cartel called “Los Rugrats,” with Narcoterrorism and Material Support of Terrorism in connection with trafficking massive amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine...

NEW YORK – United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Administrator Terrance Cole, DEA Northeast Associate Chief of Operations Frank Tarentino, DEA San Francisco Division Special Agent in Charge Bob Beris, along with our law enforcement partners Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) New York , U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...

CAPE GIRARDEAU – An Alabama man has admitted involvement in the burglary of a Kennett, Missouri pharmacy last year and the theft of 16,800 pills, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday. Cornelius Cardez Bray, 31, of Birmingham, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of intent to steal a controlled...

ALBUQUERQUE – The DEA and the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today that a federal court has entered a $320,000.00 judgment against a former Albuquerque dentist to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by unlawfully issuing prescriptions after his professional licenses were revoked or expired. William C...

CENTENNIAL, CO – The Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) is issuing a warning after DEA's Southwest Laboratory identified illicit pills containing mixtures of both deadly fentanyl/carfentanil and fentanyl/heroin. The drugs were found in tablets after lab analyses of recent seizures in both Colorado and Utah. "With these...

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 167 months in prison for his role in a transnational drug trafficking organization with ties to a Mexican cartel. The sentence follows a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation which has so far led to convictions of approximately a dozen...

CAMDEN, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of DEA’s New Jersey Field Division Towanda R. Thorne-James and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Robert Frazer announced a South Jersey psychiatrist admitted to issuing invalid prescriptions for Adderall, Vyvanse, and Xanax, and other drugs, often to his sexual partners...

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Dr. Douglas Cline and nurse practitioner Laurie McKenna have agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve civil actions brought by the United States involving unlawful opioid prescribing practices and a fraudulent conveyance action against Dr. Cline, announced Drug Enforcement Administration New York Enforcement Division, Special Agent in...

Pensacola, Florida – Today, United States Attorney John P. Heekin announced criminal charges against Dr. Edward Scott Morrison, who is accused of illegally distributing and dispensing controlled substances. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. U.S. Attorney Heekin...

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - Today, United States Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced civil settlements with two defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. The civil settlements are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The settlements stem from each defendant’s respective...