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Three Individuals Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulently Billing Medicare and Medicaid Through Opioid Addiction Treatment Clinics in Kentucky

posted 15 days ago
A Texas businessman, a Kentucky doctor, and a Kentucky woman were sentenced to prison for their roles in fraudulently billing Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid over $4.8 million through a series of addiction treatment facilities. Today, Michael Bregenzer, 53, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. In February 2026, José Alzadon, M.D., 62, of Paintsville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. In January 2026, Barbie Vanhoose, 63, of West Van Lear, Kentucky, was sentenced to 24 months in prison. All three defendants were ordered to pay restitution of $812,881.09. According to evidence ...

Office of National Drug Control Policy Releases First Wastewater-Based Drug Testing Report

posted 16 days ago
Trump Administration Uses New Methods to Monitor Drug Supply for Emerging Drug Threats This month, the Office of National Drug Control Policy released its first-ever report on Wastewater-Based Drug Testing. The Trump Administration is using new and innovative technologies like wastewater-based drug monitoring to provide near real-time data to respond to the drug crisis. Under President Trump’s leadership, drug overdose deaths continue to drop each month, and American communities are safer and healthier. This report builds on the following goals outlined in the first chapter of the 2026 National Drug Control Strategy : Leveraging wastewater testing ...

Florida Pharmacist Convicted of Massive Oxycodone Distribution Conspiracy

posted 17 days ago
Defendant dispensed 300,000+ pills to patients with no medical need at 10x the price A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted a Florida licensed pharmacist and pharmacy owner yesterday for her role in dispensing over 300,000 oxycodone 30mg pills to pharmacy patrons who had no medical need for the drug. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Olushola Yusuf, 60, of Tampa, dispensed oxycodone to nearly all her pharmacy customers. Yusuf charged customers approximately 10 times the typical cost of the drug and required payment from them in cash. In total, Yusuf dispensed at least 335,351 pills of oxycodone 30mg during ...

Medical Supply Company Owner Convicted of $30M Medicare Fraud Scheme

posted 17 days ago
A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted an Oklahoma business owner and chiropractor yesterday for his role in a yearslong scheme that attempted to bilk Medicare, TRICARE, and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of over $30 million by purchasing patient information, medical practitioners’ signatures, and doctors’ orders for orthotic braces and glucose monitors that patients did not want or need. “The defendant turned private medical data into a pipeline for personal profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. ...

New Mexico Woman Pleads Guilty to $4M Medicaid Fraud

posted 19 days ago
A New Mexico woman pleaded guilty today to working with a non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) company to submit millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims to New Mexico Medicaid for ineligible and non-existent trips to medical appointments. According to court documents, Dorothea Irving, 47, of Farmington, New Mexico, worked as a driver between 2020 and 2026 for a company that provided non-emergency medical transportation. The New Mexico Medicaid program covers the cost of transportation for non-emergency medical services, such as routine doctors’ appointments, for Medicaid recipients who lack access to transportation by personal vehicle or public ...

Cychlorphine, a drug 10 times stronger than fentanyl, showing up in North Louisiana street pills

posted 23 days ago
A synthetic opioid more potent than fentanyl is appearing in street drugs across North Louisiana, and investigators say it is turning up in larger quantities. Cychlorphine is being mixed into pills that look nearly identical to common prescription medications, including oxycodone and hydrocodone tablets. The North Louisiana Crime Lab has recorded more cases from North Louisiana parishes testing positive for the drug over the last six months. Read Article #Louisiana #Cychlorphine #EmergingDrugTrends

FDA Proposes New Drug Manufacturing Rule: What Distributed Manufacturing and Foreign API Registration Changes Could Mean for Pharma Compliance

posted 25 days ago
In the wake of the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) ambitious unified agenda, on July 13, 2026, the agency published a proposed rule aiming to align its regulatory frameworks with “how distributed manufacturing actually works.” The proposed rule would create a tailored drug establishment registration framework for certain distributed manufacturing establishments (DMEs) and clarify the registration and listing obligations applicable to certain foreign drug establishments. Read Article #DSCSAGuidance

Two New Jersey Men Sentenced for Fentanyl Analogue Distribution in Homeland Security Task Force Investigation

posted 30 days ago
Two New Jersey men were sentenced this week for their roles in a drug trafficking organization that imported fentanyl analogues from China and distributed them in pill form throughout Northern New Jersey.Nine individuals have been charged and convicted for their roles in this drug trafficking organization. In total, they imported over a metric ton of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs into the United States and sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to China using wire transfers and Bitcoin to pay for the drugs. Thus far, five individuals have been sentenced to a total of 685 months in prison. On July 7, Sean Tighe, 50, of North Haledon, New Jersey, ...

Founder/CEO and Clinical President of Digital Health Company Sentenced to 72 Months and 24 Months, Respectively, for $90 Million Scheme to Distribute over 37 Million Pills of Adderall

posted 07-07-2026
Health Care Fraud Unit Secures Result in Landmark Case Targeting Executives of Fraudulent Mental Health Technology Company The founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ruthia He of Done Global Inc., a California-based digital mental health company, was sentenced today to six years in prison and a fine of $1 million for orchestrating a scheme that used her company’s technology platform, compensation structure, and clinical protocols to unlawfully distribute over 37 million pills of Adderall, defraud insurers of over $12 million, and obstruct the federal investigation that followed. The defendant spent over $40 million on social media advertisements ...

Opioid class actions to proceed to early 2028 trial after appeal rulings: B.C. Attorney General

posted 07-06-2026
British Columbia’s opioid class actions against manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and consultants will proceed to trial in early 2028 after the B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed the final appeals challenging certification, Attorney General Niki Sharma said in a statement issued July 6. Read article #Canada #CivilCase

DEA to Temporarily Schedule 7-OH and Related Substances to Protect Public Safety

posted 07-01-2026
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration filed its intent to temporarily place 7-hydroxymitagynine (7-OH) and three related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Prior to DEA issuing this notice, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed synthetic 7-OH, and the three related substances have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Two Notices of Intent (NOI) were sent to the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. One NOI addresses 7-OH above a specified threshold. The second NOI addresses moving 7-hydroxymitragynine-related substances (mitragynine pseudoindoxyl, ...

Alibaba Group and AUS Merchant Services Agree to Pay $600 Million to Resolve Allegations that they Failed to Prevent Illegal Sales of Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Equipment, and Other Illegal Products

posted 07-01-2026
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (Alibaba) — one of China’s largest companies — and its U.S.-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services Inc. (AUS, and formerly known as Alipay US), have entered a non-prosecution agreement to pay $600 million to resolve the Justice Department’s allegations that they violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by failing to prevent merchants from selling and importing illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, listed chemicals, and pill presses into the United States through the Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com e‑commerce platforms. Alibaba operates e-commerce platform Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest ...

Massachusetts Couple Sentenced to Prison for Importing Misbranded Drugs From China and Selling Them to Customers in U.S. for Performance Enhancing Purposes

posted 07-01-2026
The defendants earned more than $600,000 from the sales of illegally misbranded drugs, repackaging and selling them for the use of preventing aging; improving sexual performance; and increasing cognitive function BOSTON – A Massachusetts couple have been sentenced in federal court in Boston for conspiring to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce with intent to defraud and mislead. Chenguang Gong, 43, and Yalan Tang, 45, both of Belmont, Mass., were each sentenced by U.S. District Court Richard G. Stearns to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. In January 2026, the defendants pleaded guilty to one count ...

Telemedicine Company Owner and Author of Health Care Compliance Books Sentenced for $136M Medicare Fraud Scheme

posted 06-30-2026
The owner of two telemedicine companies was sentenced today to 120 months in prison and ordered to pay $66 million in restitution for her role in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and prescription drugs. According to court documents and statements made in court, Jean Wilson, 54, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, is a licensed nurse practitioner who owned and operated two telemedicine companies between 2017 and 2019. Through these companies, Wilson and others paid illegal kickbacks to medical providers to sign orders for orthotic braces and prescriptions for pharmaceutical drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, even ...

Partnership for Safe Medicines Releases Action Plan to Protect Patients from Unapproved Knockoff GLP-1s

posted 06-25-2026
The Partnership for Safe Medicines today published a report outlining solutions to protect patients from the risks of a growing compounded GLP-1 marketplace. A Call to Action: Restoring and Strengthening America’s Patient Safety System serves as a detailed plan for policymakers and regulators to uphold the gold standard system that protects Americans from untested and unsafe medicines. Read Article #GLP-1 #SafetyAlerts

Statement from DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole Regarding Request for an Independent Review

posted 06-25-2026
The Drug Enforcement Administration exists to protect the American people. Fulfilling that mission requires not only aggressive action against the criminal organizations trafficking deadly drugs into our communities, but also accountability and public trust. Today, I requested that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General conduct an independent review of DEA’s actions in connection with an investigation that has become the subject of public allegations. I made this request because allegations involving a federal law enforcement agency should be examined independently, thoroughly, and based on the complete factual record – not debated ...

Fake Cancer Medicines Have Reached US Clinics And Most Providers Don’t Know It

posted 06-24-2026
Providers in high-income countries underestimate the domestic scale of falsified medicine. Read Article #Counterfeit #PatientHarm

National Health Care Fraud Takedown Results in 455 Defendants Charged in Connection with Over $6.5 Billion in Alleged Fraud

posted 06-23-2026
Record Medicaid Fraud Charges Largest Number of States Participating in Health Care Fraud Takedown History The Justice Department today announced the 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, which resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death. Today’s Takedown represents a new era in federal, state, and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, ...

CBP officers seize over $10.1 million in methamphetamine at World Trade Bridge

posted 06-22-2026
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the World Trade Bridge seized narcotics that totaled over $10,122,000 in street value. The seizure occurred on Monday, June 15, 2026, at the World Trade Bridge, when a CBP officer referred a 2013 D-13 Volvo hauling a shipment manifested as “polypropylene” for secondary inspection. Following a canine and nonintrusive inspection system examination, CBP officers discovered a total of 1,100.79 pounds of suspected methamphetamine within the commodity. The narcotics have a street value of $10,122,012. Packages containing 1,100.79 pounds of methamphetamine seized by CBP officers at World Trade Bridge. CBP seized ...

3 officers hospitalized after drug exposure at B.C. prison, union says

posted 06-22-2026
Three correctional officers were hospitalized after being exposed to illicit drugs at a federal prison in B.C.’s Fraser Valley earlier this month, according to their union. Read Article #Canada #Officer-DrugExposure #SyntheticStimulant #Fentanyl #Jail/Prison