Federal Pill Mill Investigation Results in Multiple Arrests in Florida

The National Association of  Boards of Pharmacy is reporting:

A multi-agency operation has resulted in charges against seven doctors and seven clinic owners on state racketeering violations related to the operation of illegal pain clinics throughout Florida. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that the defendants “face 144 violations of Florida statutes which include the following offenses: racketeering; conspiracy to commit racketeering; manslaughter; trafficking in a controlled substance; conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance (28 grams or more); delivery of a controlled substance; illegally prescribing a controlled substance by a practitioner; illegally prescribing a controlled substance (oxycodone hydrochloride) by a practitioner-trafficking amount; workers compensation fraud; and money laundering.” As of June 27, 2012, 12 of the defendants had been arrested, and approximately 59 bank accounts were seized totaling approximately $1.1 million. Further, DEA notes that 13 search warrants have been executed in nine jurisdictions including search warrants on clinics. 

Numerous community concerns regarding suspicious activities at the Stuart Pain Management, Vero Beach, FL, initiated an investigation in May 2012. Agents discovered that Stuart Pain Management and eight other clinics throughout Florida were operated by an organization headed by Lewis Stouffer. Stouffer and his partner Craig Turturo are active Pompano Beach firemen. According to DEA, “Stouffer used his hero firefighter/paramedic image, to maneuver through the system. Stouffer maintained a rapport with local law enforcement. He educated his co-conspirators on how to successfully report their competition as well as how to report doctor shoppers in order to appear as though they were legitimate pain clinics. . . The Stouffer drug trafficking organization is responsible for diversion of millions of narcotic medications, including Oxycodone, Roxicodone, Percocet, Xanax, MS Contin, and Valium throughout Florida.”

Additional details about the investigation and charges are available in a DEA news release. This investigation is ongoing and is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the State Attorney’s Office 19^th Judicial Circuit. DEA notes that the charging document is merely an accusation and the defendants are assumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This article can be found here.