Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte approved the United States’ consent decree with Abtin Youssefi-Rashti, a Montgomery County based pharmacist, and Upton Care Pharmacy, Inc. (“Upton Care”), resolving the United States’ civil allegations that Youssefi-Rashti and Upton Care violated the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) in illegally dispensing...

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Two Houston women have been sent to prison following their convictions of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin and cocaine, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Houston Division Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Clarissa Hernandez, 24...

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Frank Parasmo, a former medical doctor, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 36 months in prison for his conviction on 32 counts of unlawfully distributing oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription painkiller, to 18 patients...

RALEIGH, N.C. – A former Fuquay-Varina nurse was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release for tampering with painkillers intended for surgery patients. On March 9, 2022, Melissa Elizabeth Chacona pled guilty to the charges. “Surgical patients trust healthcare providers to give them the...

DALLAS, TX – A Dallas man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for drug trafficking violations related to a 2021 overdose death, announced Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez today. Robel Habtemariam, 20, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to manufacture and deliver fentanyl and was...

DALLAS, TX – A Denton physician has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations announced Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Dallas Eduardo A. Chávez today. Stanley Charles Evans, 63, pleaded guilty on Sep. 12, 2022, to conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and health care...

DALLAS, TX - A fentanyl trafficker tied to the rash of juvenile overdoses in Carrollton and Flower Mound pleaded guilty today to a drug crime, announced DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez Magaly Mejia Cano, 29, was charged via criminal complaint in February. On Tuesday she pleaded...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On April 22, 2023, DEA and its law enforcement partners came together once again to protect our communities from prescription misuse by safely disposing of 663,725 pounds of unneeded medications at nearly 5,000 collection sites across the country. Since its inception in 2010, DEA’s bi-annual National Prescription...

EAST WINDSOR, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JAYSON KEMP, 46, of East Windsor, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release...

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...