DEA Archived Press Releases

Press Releases before January 20, 2025
64 Results - Showing 1 to 10
PRESS RELEASE

Operators of Three Texas Pharmacies and Two Pain Clinics Arrested for Illegally Dispensing Nearly Four Million Opioid Pills

WASHINGTON – Three Houston-area pharmacists, a doctor, and a pharmacy technician have been arrested for allegedly running three pharmacies and two clinics as “pill mills;” distributing hydrocodone, oxycodone, and other controlled drugs without a legitimate medical purpose. According to court documents, since January 2018, Chrisco Pharmacy (Chrisco), Keystone Pharmacy (Keystone)...
PRESS RELEASE

Pain Clinic Owners Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Opioid Prescribing

MILWAUKEE - John G. McGarry, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Wisconsin, and Acting United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling announced that on Dec. 10, 2021, Lisa Hofschulz, 61, formerly a licensed nurse practitioner in the state of Wisconsin, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison...
PRESS RELEASE

Nurse Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Morphine at Moses Lake Clinic

Spokane - Esther Rae Tuller, age 40, of Moses Lake, Washington, has pleaded guilty to tampering with morphine medication while working as a registered nurse. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian accepted Tuller’s guilty plea and scheduled a sentencing hearing for March 17, 2022, in Spokane. According to...
PRESS RELEASE

Naples Doctor Who Operated a Pill Mill Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison

FORT MYERS, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell today sentenced Gerald Michael Abraham, 76, of Naples, Florida. to three years in federal prison for dispensing controlled substances (oxycodone and amphetamine) for no legitimate medical purpose. The court also ordered Abraham to forfeit the following items to the United...
PRESS RELEASE

Savannah Woman Pleads Guilty to Laundering ‘Pill Mill’ Money

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- A former Garden City, Ga., clinic owner and CEO has admitted to laundering money in connection with a notorious “pill mill” doctor who illegally dispensed massive amounts of controlled substances. Jamesetta Whipple-Duncan, 58, of Savannah, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of money laundering...
PRESS RELEASE

Virtua Health Inc. to Pay $150,000 to Settle Controlled Substances Act Allegations

NEWARK, N.J. – Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division Susan A. Gibson and Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Rachael A. Honig announced a nonprofit healthcare system that owns and operates a network of healthcare entities has agreed to pay $150,000...
PRESS RELEASE

Baltimore Felon Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Gun Charges

Baltimore, Md., – Julian Gray, age 49, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The guilty plea was announced by Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division...
PRESS RELEASE

Phoenix Field Division Graduates 13 Community Members from the First Ever Citizen's Academy

PHOENIX - On October 2, 2021, thirteen Yavapai County community members proudly graduated from the Phoenix Field Division's (PFD) first ever DEA Citizen's Academy. The community-based training program provided civilians from the local community with a first-hand understanding of the critical mission and work conducted every day by the men...
PRESS RELEASE

Post Falls Doctor Pays $110,000 for Overprescribing Opioids

COEUR D’ALENE – Dr. Eric Benson, an internist practicing medicine in Post Falls, Idaho, agreed to pay $110,000 to resolve allegations that he unlawfully prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to patients between 2014-2021. The settlement, which was based in part on Dr. Benson’s ability to pay, also restricts the...
PRESS RELEASE

Federal Consent Decree Permanently Bans Baltimore-Based Physician Assistant from Prescribing Opioids and Controlled Substances

Baltimore, Md., – U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman has approved a consent decree that permanently enjoins Elizabeth J. Allen, a Baltimore-based physician assistant, from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, resolving the United States’ civil allegations that Allen violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in illegally prescribing opioids. Under...