United States Drug Enforcement Administration

FRESNO, Calif. — Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone. Ntukogu was a pharmacist in Madera who dispensed more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on fraudulent prescriptions, all in exchange for cash...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has seen an increase in burglaries at independent pharmacies across the country. Nearly 900 burglaries involving the theft of controlled substances were reported to DEA in 2023. Stolen prescription medications adversely impact these small businesses while also putting patients and the community at...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Parto Karimi, a former Bay Area doctor, has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for distributing powerful opioids outside the scope of medical practice, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), San Francisco Field Division, Special Agent...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced today a settlement with pharmaceutical distributor Morris & Dickson Co., LLC for failing to maintain effective controls against diversion of controlled substances, including failure to report to DEA thousands of unusually large orders of oxycodone and hydrocodone. Morris & Dickson, which...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Nor-Cal Pharmacies Inc., doing business as Lockeford Drug, and pharmacist/owner Lawrence Howen have agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to resolve allegations of violations of the Controlled Substances Act, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark announced...

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced administrative actions against six DEA-registered companies which, together, failed to account for more than a million doses of opioids. Under DEA initiative “Operation Bottleneck,” DEA served an Immediate Suspension Order and five Orders to Show Cause over a one-month period from...

SAN JOSE, Calif. – A federal jury yesterday convicted family medicine physician Donald Siao of twelve counts of distributing the controlled substances Oxycodone and Hydrocodone outside the scope of his usual professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)...

WASHINGTON – Today, ahead of the expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued the “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” – a temporary rule that extends telemedicine flexibilities...

WASHINGTON - Today, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced proposed permanent rules for the prescribing of controlled medications via telemedicine, expanding patient access to critical therapies beyond the scheduled end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The public will be able to comment for 30 days on the proposed rules. The...

WASHINGTON -- Today, DEA served an Order to Show Cause on Truepill, a retail pharmacy that is alleged to have wrongfully filled thousands of prescriptions for stimulants used in the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Truepill was the pharmacy for telehealth companies, including Cerebral, that marketed ADHD treatments, including...