United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ABINGDON, Va. – Sovah Health has agreed to pay the United States $4.36 million to settle claims that the hospital system violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) on numerous occasions between 2017 and 2020. As part of the resolution, Sovah Health further agreed to be subject to a period of...

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...

ALEXANDRIA, Va., – A Los Angeles man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for leading a conspiracy involving the distribution of wholesale quantities of synthetic cannabinoids—commonly known as “spice” or “K2”—and laundering millions of dollars in the proceeds of the sale of that spice. According to court documents...

Washington, D.C., - Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division, announced the issuance of an Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) at Northgate Pharmacy, located at 3973 Saint Charles Parkway, Waldorf, Maryland, today. This morning, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division’s Tactical Diversion Squad, along...

LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Madison Heights, Virginia man, and former veterinarian, pleaded guilty to a pair of drug charges related to his diversion of hydromorphone, an opioid drug also known under the trade name of “Dilaudid.” Patrick Gries, 54, pleaded guilty last week to the adulteration of a drug held...

LYNCHBURG, Va. – A Madison Heights, Virginia man and former veterinarian pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanor drug charges related to his diversion of hydromorphone, an opioid drug also known under the trade name of “Dilaudid.” Patrick Gries, 54, pleaded guilty last week to one count of adulteration of...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today to being the head of a conspiracy involving the distribution of wholesale quantities of synthetic cannabinoids—commonly known as “spice” or “K2”—and laundering millions of dollars in the proceeds of the sale of that spice. According to court documents, from 2017...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Utica, New York man pleaded guilty yesterday to charges relating to his sale of over $1.2 million in opioid pills and counterfeit U.S. currency on multiple dark web criminal marketplaces. According to court documents, from around October 2016 through February 2021, Albie Pagan, 65, operated under...

ROANOKE, Va. – Bryan Wade Lewis, a former pharmacist at Home Choice Partners in Roanoke, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court for tampering with a consumer product, hydromorphone, that affected interstate commerce. Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's Washington Division and Acting United States Attorney Daniel...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Seabrook, New Hampshire man pleaded guilty today to his role in a nationwide conspiracy to distribute synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “spice” or “K2.” According to court documents, William Walsh, 56, operated two shops in Seabrook—“Up N Smoke” and “The Smoking Monkey”—from which he sold retail...