Doctor prescribed opioids to granddaughter for her to sell in Florida, feds say

A Florida doctor is accused of prescribing drugs to her granddaughter that she didn’t need so her granddaughter could sell them, federal officials said.

The Spring Hill resident, 77, and her granddaughter, 34 were indicted on charges of drug distribution and conspiracy to distribute drugs on Nov. 7, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

In July 2020, a Florida medical board began investigating the osteopathic physician after receiving complaints about “the manner in which she prescribed controlled substances,” the attorney’s office said.

The board banned the doctor from prescribing opioids, but she continued to prescribe them anyway in violation of the medical board’s order, according to the release.

The ban was lifted in March 2021, federal officials said.

Then, between March 2021 and February 2023, the doctor’s granddaughter began bringing other patients to her grandma’s clinic, officials said.

The doctor prescribed opioids and other controlled substances to her granddaughter and to the people she brought for “no legitimate medical purpose,” the attorney’s office said.

The granddaughter and other people prescribed the medication then abused the drugs and distributed them, according to the release.

The physician was ordered to forfeit $34,132 that officials say she earned from distributing drugs illegally.

She faces 22 federal charges and her granddaughter faces 10 federal charges, officials said.

Both women face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each charge if convicted, according to the release.

Spring Hill is about 50 miles north of Tampa.

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