Complaint Filed Against Houston Pharmacy and its Owners for Violations of the Controlled Substances Act
HOUSTON – A civil complaint has been filed seeking monetary penalties against a local pharmacy and its owners following an investigation revealing numerous fraudulent controlled substance prescriptions, announced Acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of the Houston Division and U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
The complaint seeks civil monetary penalties from Nnwood Pharmacy and names Nnwood’s owners Cheryl Brew Greenleaf and Wendell Kirk Greenleaf, both of Houston, as defendants.
According to the complaint, Nnwood Pharmacy registered as a retail pharmacy with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) May 21, 2007, and was authorized to dispense Schedule II through V controlled substances.
The investigation revealed Nnwood dispensed numerous dosage units of powerful controlled substances that physicians located hundreds of miles from the pharmacy’s location had allegedly prescribed. It also dispensed multiple dosages of Schedule II hydrocodone and Schedule IV carisoprodol pills to numerous male customers whose prescriptions originated from doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology care, according to the complaint.
Authorities executed an administrative inspection warrant July 16, 2021, at which time they seized 99 allegedly fraudulent patient prescriptions Nnwood had dispensed. The complaint alleges the prescriptions were for schedule II thru schedule IV-controlled substances and dispensed pursuant to several invalid DEA registration numbers.
Nnwood and the Greenleafs allegedly dispensed controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice by dispensing the fraudulent and invalid prescriptions.
Additionally, Nnwood and the Greenleafs allegedly failed to make, keep and furnish records and reports The Controlled Substances Act and DEA regulations require.
According to the complaint, Nnwood was also the subject of a previous investigation in 2007.
“The Controlled Substances Act ensures that those who manufacture, prescribe, dispense, and distribute controlled substances do so in a safe and legitimate way. This prevents dangerous narcotics being diverted for illicit use, or for unsuspecting people to ingest dangerous drugs,” said Ganjei. The Southern District of Texas is committed to ensuring that those who endanger the public by violating the Act are held accountable.”
“Pharmacies are the final defense against prescription drugs being diverted to the black market and into the wrong hands devastating communities,” said DEA acting Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of the DEA-Houston Division. “Pharmacies have a fundamental responsibility to ensure safeguards are in place to prevent the diversion of controlled substances and ensure that they are dispensing controlled substances pursuant to legitimate prescriptions.”
The Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations seek to deter, detect and eliminate the diversion of controlled substances and listed chemicals into the illicit market while ensuring that an adequate supply of controlled substances and listed chemicals is available for legitimate medical, scientific, research and industrial purposes.
The DEA conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill O. Venezia is handling the case.
