WASHINGTON – A federal court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting a Tampa-area physician from prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced today. In a complaint filed on July 18, and unsealed yesterday, the United States alleges that Dr. Neelam Taneja Uppal unlawfully wrote opioid prescriptions...

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered a Tampa-area pain management clinic to close and directed the clinic’s owners and its former physician to collectively pay $600,000 in civil penalties pursuant to agreed resolutions in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Justice Department announced today. In...

PENSACOLA, Fla. —Ahmad T. Ismail, 70, of Bonifay, Florida, settled potential violations of the Controlled Substances Act by agreeing to pay a fine of $130,000 and surrendering his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration. The settlement was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida...

TAMPA, Fla. – On March 16, 2022, Dr. Zachary Bird (51, Tampa) was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release, for structuring cash transactions to evade bank reporting requirements. As part of his sentence, the Court also entered a money judgment in the...

Houston-A federal jury in the Southern District of Texas convicted a Texas pharmacy owner yesterday for unlawfully distributing controlled substances and laundering money from his now-shuttered pharmacies. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Clint Carr, 32, of Cypress, co-owned and operated CC Pharmacy in Houston, and CC...

HOUSTON, TX – Today, Drug Enforcement Administration Houston Division diversion investigators served an Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) that immediately suspended the DEA registration held by Wholesale Rx also known as “Tyler Pharmaceuticals” located in Cordova, TN. Wholesale Rx is suspected of diverting controlled substances onto the black market resulting in...

BEAUMONT, Texas – A federal grand jury in Beaumont has returned a three-count indictment charging a Florida resident, along with nine other individuals, in a drug trafficking conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux, Houston Division and U.S...

TAMPA, Fla. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Dr. Qing McGaha (55, Tampa) with conspiracy to commit unlawful distribution of controlled substances and unlawful distribution of controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice, as...

AUSTIN – Today 13 individuals were arrested on criminal charges for their alleged involvement in fentanyl distribution announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux and United States Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. According to court documents, Marcos Garcia, 18, of Somerton, AZ; Oliver Garcia, 20, of...

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)...