MIAMI – The grimy streets of Miami witnessed a harrowing tale of greed and medicine abuse as Osmin Morales, 72, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for running a pill mill operation out of his Weston clinic.
Morales, who was convicted in January on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully dispense and distribute controlled substances, along with six counts of unlawful dispensing, exploited his medical license to prescribe potent drugs like oxycodone and alprazolam to patients without a legitimate medical basis. His scheme often involved pre-writing prescriptions that were distributed for cash payments.
One patient’s mother recounted how she pleaded with Morales to halt the prescription of narcotics to her daughter, who was descending into dysfunction, but he ignored her pleas. The DEA agent investigating the case found that during the time of the indictment, Morales had prescribed opioids to over a thousand patients, many with criminal records related to drug dealing.
Expert testimony revealed a shocking lack of medical basis for the prescriptions and highlighted the dangerous cocktail of central nervous system depressants prescribed by Morales. A former staff member confessed to collecting up to $4,000 per day in cash from patients for prescriptions that were not even signed by Morales.
The U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe and DEA Special Agent Deanne L. Reuter announced the sentence, which marks a victory for law enforcement agencies like the DEA Miami Field Division and CBP. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank Tamen, Theodore Joseph O’Brien, Emily Stone, and Mitchell Hyman played pivotal roles in the prosecution and asset forfeiture.
For more information on this case, visit www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20255.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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