Memphis, TN – Unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists in the Appalachian region have been targeted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division in a major crackdown on illegal opioid prescriptions.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski announced the formation of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force (ARPO Strike Force), a joint law enforcement effort that brings together the resources and expertise of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section (HCF Unit), the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for nine federal districts in five states, as well as law enforcement partners at the FBI, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The mission of the ARPO Strike Force is to identify and investigate health care fraud schemes in the Appalachian region and surrounding areas, and to effectively and efficiently prosecute medical professionals and others involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids.
“While the opioid epidemic continues to inflict untold pain and suffering on people across the country, the devastation in the Appalachian region and adjacent areas has been particularly staggering,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “It is all the more reprehensible when unscrupulous physicians and pharmacies contribute to the epidemic by illegally supplying dangerous prescription painkillers.”
“The creation of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force will bring together critical resources from the FBI and our partners to fight health care fraud in this region and the growing opioid epidemic that faces the United States,” said FBI Assistant Director Robert Johnson.
Defendant: None (Strike Force targets unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists)
Crime: Health care fraud schemes, illegal prescription and distribution of opioids
City and State: Memphis, TN
Date: 2023
Sentence or outcome: Investigation ongoing
Dollar amounts: Not specified
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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