United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO – As part of a pledge to live drug free, several iconic buildings visible along the Chicago skyline, including Willis Tower, Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, Prudential Plaza and 875 North Michigan will illuminate red lighting and display messaging in support of Red Ribbon Week on Saturday, Oct. 23...

OMAHA, Neb.– Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation declaring October 23-31, Red Ribbon Week across the state, urging citizens to take note of the observance by committing to healthy drug-free lifestyles and participating in drug prevention activities. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division partnered with Iowa’s Office of...

OMAHA, Neb.– Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King stressed the importance of drug education and prevention at a Red Ribbon Week proclamation signing ceremony attended by Nebraska Lt. Governor Mike Foley at the Capitol in Lincoln. Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest...

DALLAS – The Department of Justice announced today criminal charges against 138 defendants, including 42 doctors, nurses, and other licensed medical professionals, in 31 federal districts across the United States, for their alleged participation in various healthcare fraud schemes that resulted in approximately $1.4 billion in alleged losses. The charges...

SEATTLE – Dr. Gerald Lee, a Seattle physician, has agreed to pay $150,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act and False Claims Act. Specifically, the United States alleges that from January 2016 to September 2017, Dr. Lee violated the Controlled Substances Act by writing 23 prescriptions...

Charles County, Md., - On September 3, 2021 members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Division's Tactical Diversion Squad along with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office arrested Vincent Ippolito, 62, of Waldorf, and Denise Marie Shifflett, 45, of La Plata, in connection with illegally distributing drugs and narcotics. Ippolito...

BROOKLYN, NY – An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip charging Dr. Barry Arnold, a practicing dentist with an office in Valley Stream, New York, with writing illegal prescriptions to women for oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, and alprazolam (“Xanax”), a Schedule IV controlled substance...

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced William Soyke, age 68, of Hanover, Pennsylvania to 37 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and dispense oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone, and alprazolam outside the scope of professional practice and not for...

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for DEA Wisconsin, and Acting United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that on Aug. 13, 2021, Lisa Hofschulz, a licensed nurse practitioner, and Robert Hofschulz, both owners and operators of Clinical Pain...

LOS ANGELES – A High Desert physician remains in federal custody today after his arrest Wednesday on charges of illegally dispensing prescriptions for often-abused controlled substances – including opioid-based medications – during telemedicine sessions with “patients” from across the United States. Dr. Raphael Tomas Malikian, 36, who resides in Llano...