United States Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered an Elkin, North Carolina, pharmacy to pay a $500,000 penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and its pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed...

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced today that a Nassau County doctor has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for prescription practices that led to the deaths of five patients between 2016 and 2018. George Blatti, 78, pleaded guilty on October 10...

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Today, Daniel E. Russo was sentenced to 60 months in prison by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, distribution and possession of oxycodone, and nine counts of filing false personal and corporate tax returns. In...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell sentenced Savonte Watkins, 46, of Charlotte, to 42 months in prison on drug charges yesterday, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Bell also ordered Watkins to serve three years under court supervision after...

NEW YORK CITY – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 25th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event offers an easy, no-cost opportunity for the community to anonymously dispose of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 local drop-off locations...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A North Carolina physician appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan C. Rodriguez this morning on charges related to the alleged unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. A criminal indictment charging Henry Ronald Emery, Jr...

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Dr. Jang Boo Chi, formerly a physician in Auburn, and his medical practice, Jang Boo Chi M.D. P.C., have agreed to pay the United States $135,000 in civil penalties for overprescribing opioids and other controlled substances in dangerous combinations. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, and...

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Kiara Hurd, 20, of West Seneca, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis A...

NEW BERN, N.C. – A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous, published opinion affirming former physician Jong Whan Kim’s conviction and sentence for operating a pill mill in Tabor City. The Fourth Circuit’s decision was the first published opinion by the Court upholding a...

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Dr. Mark S.T. Armitage, a physician practicing with Pelican Family Medicine in Wilmington, North Carolina, agreed to pay $170,000 to resolve alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act. Dr. Armitage, who previously surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration to prescribe controlled substances, further agreed not to...