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Multi-agency Investigation into a Large-scale Drug Trafficking Organization

posted 3 days ago
STATEMENT FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT Today, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Enforcement Team (CET) and the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Joint Community Action Team (JCAT), along with several other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, announced the culmination of a long-term narcotics investigation targeting a major Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). This DTO was responsible for distributing narcotics throughout the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, as well as Baltimore, MD, and the lower region of Delaware. This operation led to the seizure of significant quantities of illegal drugs, weapons, and monies associated with the ...

Telemedicine Company Owner Pleads Guilty to $46M Medicare Fraud Scheme

posted 14 days ago
The owner of a telemedicine company pleaded guilty today to organizing and leading a $46.2 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that spanned more than six years. According to court documents, Christopher Harwood, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, admitted that he owned and operated a telemedicine company called TelevisitMD. Harwood and his co-conspirators targeted Medicare patients through aggressive telemarketing campaigns, inducing them to accept orthotic braces and genetic tests that they did not need. Harwood paid doctors to approve orders for these braces and genetic tests. These doctors did not follow Medicare’s rules for telemedicine visits, did not have ...

DEA Delivers Major Blows to Drug Cartels, Advancing a Fentanyl Free America in 2026

posted 16 days ago
Marking a powerful start to 2026, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration dealt a significant blow to drug trafficking networks during Phase II of Operation Fentanyl Free America. Between January 12 and February 10, 2026, DEA seized more than 4.7 million fentanyl pills and nearly 2,396 pounds of fentanyl powder resulting in more than 57 million deadly doses of fentanyl removed from communities in just thirty-days. Eliminating the threat of fentanyl remains a top priority for DEA. By dismantling these complex transnational criminal organizations and disrupting the intricate illicit financial systems that fund the cartels, DEA is upholding its commitment to ...

Director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) is warning the public about a new and deadly synthetic opioid that has now been confirmed in Oklahoma.

posted 18 days ago
OBN DIRECTOR ISSUES WARNING ON NEW AND DEADLY SYNTHETIC OPIOID The Director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) is warning the public about a new and deadly synthetic opioid that has now been confirmed in Oklahoma. OBN Director Donnie Anderson says Cychlorphine, known scientifically as N-Propionitrile chlorphine, has been found in Oklahoma, and linked to at least one overdose death involving an 18-year-old from Yukon. “Cychlorphine can be up to ten times stronger than Fentanyl. Though it is a synthetic opioid, this drug is extremely powerful, and Naloxone may not be effective in reversing an overdose. At the very least, it might take multiple ...

Fentanyl found inside Barbies sold at Missouri discount store, police say

posted 19 days ago
Fentanyl was found inside Barbie doll packages being sold at a discount store in Missouri, police said on Saturday. The Independence Police Department said in a social media post that they were contacted by security at Cargo Largo, a local discount store, after finding a suspicious powder substance in the packaging of a Barbie doll. Read Full Article #Concealment #Missouri #Fentanyl

Anchorage Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Multi-Million-Dollar Health Care Fraud and Tax Evasion

posted 23 days ago
An Anchorage doctor was sentenced yesterday to six and a half years in prison and three years of supervised release for executing a $12.5 million health care fraud scheme and evading over $4 million in taxes on the profits of that 15-year scheme. Her husband and co-defendant was sentenced to three years of probation, with two years to be served in home confinement. According to court documents and statements made in court, Dr. Claribel Tan, 61, and her husband, Daniel Tan, 70, operated a rheumatology medical clinic in Anchorage starting in 2005. Claribel Tan specialized in the treatment of autoimmune and musculoskeletal diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ...

Owners and CEO of Wholesale Pharmaceutical Company Sentenced for Distributing More Than $92M of Black-Market HIV Drugs

posted 25 days ago
Two owners of a pharmaceutical wholesale company were sentenced Friday to a total of 38 years in prison for orchestrating a complex, nationwide drug diversion scheme that harmed vulnerable HIV-positive patients, placed countless others at risk, and corrupted the supply chain for prescription drugs in the United States. “Patrick and Charles Boyd did not just commit fraud and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, they preyed upon some of the most vulnerable members of our society: HIV patients who depend on life-saving treatments to manage their disease,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraud schemes ...

Two men face long terms for Arkansas pharmacy burglaries

posted 28 days ago
Antoinen Dion Hampton and Reginald Tremayne Jackson, both of Houston, Texas, will spend a combined time of 308 months in federal prison for their role in a criminal organization that was responsible for dozens of pharmacy burglaries and stolen controlled substances worth millions of dollars. Jonathan D. Ross, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentences, which were handed down Thursday, March 12, 2026 by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller. Read Article #Arkansas #Texas #PharmacyBurglary/Robbery #MoneyLaundering #DrugTraffickingOrganization(DTO)

Owner of Durable Medical Equipment Company Sentenced for $59M Medicare Fraud

posted 03-09-2026
A Texas man was sentenced Friday to 90 months in prison for his role in a $59.9 million conspiracy to pay kickbacks and submit claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare. According to court documents, Patrick Cassells, 65, of Fulshear, Texas, owned and operated three DME companies and concealed his role in one of those companies by falsely identifying another individual as the sole owner and manager in a Medicare enrollment application. Cassells paid illegal kickbacks to co-conspirators who sent him signed doctors’ orders and other paperwork necessary to bill Medicare for orthotic braces such as knee, back, shoulder and wrist ...

Indian National Sentenced for Conspiring to Sell Counterfeit Cancer Drug

posted 03-05-2026
Indian national Sanjay Kumar, 45, was sentenced today to 43 months in prison and one year of supervised release for conspiring to sell tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of counterfeit oncology pharmaceuticals into the United States. Kumar pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. According to court documents, between approximately August 2018 and June 2024, Sanjay Kumar, with the aid of co-conspirators, arranged for the sale of counterfeit versions of the prescription drug, Keytruda, used to treat cancer to undercover law enforcement agents. Keytruda is a cancer immunotherapy treatment that is approved in the United ...

Telemedicine Company Owner Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for $56M Medicare Fraud Scheme

posted 02-26-2026
The owner of two telemedicine companies was sentenced today to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $27.9 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for unnecessary durable medical equipment. “Instead of connecting patients with legitimate care, Reinaldo Wilson used his telemedicine companies to exploit Medicare and line his own pockets,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He stole over $27.9 million by submitting false and fraudulent claims, robbing a program designed to provide medical care to America’s seniors. The Criminal Division will aggressively prosecute those ...

Hims & Hers GLP-1 pill gambit backfires, accelerating crackdown on drug compounders

posted 02-24-2026
Online telehealth company Hims & Hers Health (HIMS.N), opens new tab, seeking growth drivers as its original sexual-health franchises matured, may have overstepped with a risky launch of weight-loss pills that drew swift blowback from Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab and U.S. regulators. Read Article #GLP-1 #Compounding

Texas Doctor Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Prison for $145 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

posted 02-24-2026
An orthopedic surgeon was sentenced today to 102 months in prison and ordered to pay over $13 million in restitution for his role in a $145 million scheme to defraud the Department of Labor through the submission of fraudulent claims for prescription compound creams. “The Department is committed to protecting victims and combating fraud against the United States wherever it is found,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentence is the result of years of tireless efforts by our prosecutors and agency partners who investigated this complex fraud scheme and brought to justice the defendants responsible ...

Former NFL Player and Laboratory Owner Convicted in $328M Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme

posted 02-20-2026
A federal jury in Dallas convicted a Texas laboratory owner and former NFL player yesterday for his role in a $328 million cardiovascular genetic testing fraud scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Keith J. Gray, 39, of McKinney, Texas, orchestrated a scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary genetic tests designed to evaluate the risk of various cardiovascular diseases and conditions. Gray, the owner and operator of two clinical laboratories, Axis Professional Labs LLC (Axis), and Kingdom Health Laboratory LLC (Kingdom), offered and paid kickbacks to marketers in exchange for their referral of Medicare beneficiaries’ ...

Tens of thousands of counterfeit pills, meth and guns seized; Two men arrested

posted 02-13-2026
Two Massachusetts men are facing federal drug charges after investigators seized tens of thousands of counterfeit pills, large quantities of methamphetamine, firearms, and pill-manufacturing equipment. #Massachusetts #Counterfeit #Methamphetamine #PillPress

Kentucky pharmaceutical distributor suspended after DEA investigation

posted 02-10-2026
A Kentucky pharmaceutical distributor was suspended after a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigation. Glasgow-based Richie Pharmacal was issued the Immediate Suspension Order on Tuesday, meaning it can no longer handle controlled substances "due to imminent danger to public health or safety." Read Article #Kentucky

Two Queens Men Charged with $120M Adult Day Care and Pharmacy Fraud on Medicare and Medicaid

posted 02-09-2026
On Friday, a complaint was unsealed in Brooklyn charging two Queens men with defrauding Medicare and Medicaid by paying illegal kickbacks and bribes and submitting claims for services that were never provided. “The defendants allegedly turned a pharmacy and social adult day care centers meant to help senior citizens into a $120 million dollar Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s complaint targets those who prey upon the vulnerable so they can steal from American taxpayers and defraud government programs meant to help the public.” “The defendants charged ...

DEA Operation Meltdown Shuts Down Hundreds of Illegal Online Pharmacies

posted 02-04-2026
Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, with the cooperation of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, announced the seizure of more than 200 website domains tied to an India-based transnational criminal organization (TCO) working within the United States and allegedly responsible for at least six fatal and four non-fatal overdoses. The TCO tied to these illegal online pharmacies has been under investigation by DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division since 2022. Beginning on January 27, 2026, DEA field offices throughout the United States conducted multiple operations leading to the arrest of four individuals along with the ...

Over 1200 pounds of meth found hidden in shipment of lettuce, two suspects arrested

posted 02-04-2026
Two suspects have been arrested on drug trafficking charges after over 555 kilograms of meth (1223.57 pounds) were found hidden in a shipment of lettuce. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrests of Gerardo Pineda-Gallegos and Jose Lopez-Ruiz, who are accused of conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Read Article #Texas #Methamphetamine #Interdiction

A Year of Impact: DEA Recognizes its Success in Combatting Drug Cartels and Saving Lives

posted 02-03-2026
2025 was a year of historic achievements for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration highlighted by significant drug seizures, the capture of high-profile targets, and the confirmation of DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole. Appointed by President Donald Trump on February 11, 2025 and sworn in on July 23, 2025 Administrator Cole became only the third Senate-confirmed DEA Special Agent to lead the agency. Administrator Cole is a career law enforcement officer who spent 22 years with DEA fighting the drug cartels and dismantling transnational criminal organizations. Upon his return to the agency, Administrator Cole’s priorities were clear: DEA’s renewed commitment ...