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...

ORLANDO, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Curtis Tyrone Johnson (35, Melbourne) guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon and possession with the intent to distribute various controlled substances. Johnson faces a minimum mandatory term of...

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...

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Justin Roberson (34, Clearwater) pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Roberson faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to...

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...