Controlled Substances Diversion & Pill Mill Defense
Former Director of DOJ’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force (ARPO). Nationwide Defense for Physicians, Pharmacists, Clinic Owners, Wholesalers, and Healthcare Professionals Facing Federal Charges for the Illegal Prescribing, Distribution, or Diversion of Opioids, Stimulants, Benzodiazepines, and Other Controlled Substances.
Based in Washington, D.C., Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy owners, pain management clinic operators, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, pharmaceutical wholesalers, telehealth companies, and healthcare executives in federal controlled substances diversion, pill mill, and illegal prescribing investigations and prosecutions nationwide. The firm defends individuals charged with the illegal prescribing, distribution, or diversion of opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, sedatives, anabolic steroids, buprenorphine, and other Schedule II through V controlled substances.
The firm’s founding partner, Scott Armstrong, served as the Director of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force (ARPO) at DOJ’s Fraud Section. ARPO was DOJ’s dedicated strike force for investigating and prosecuting medical professionals involved in the illegal prescription, distribution, and diversion of opioids and other controlled substances. Under ARPO, DOJ charged more than 120 defendants collectively responsible for prescribing over 115 million controlled substance pills across 10 federal districts in six states. Scott tried prescription drug diversion cases and healthcare fraud cases involving controlled substances as lead trial counsel. That direct experience leading federal controlled substances enforcement and trying diversion cases at DOJ is the foundation of the firm’s defense practice.
Federal enforcement extends far beyond opioids. In November 2025, the founders of Done Global were convicted in the first-ever federal criminal prosecution for controlled substances distribution through a telehealth platform, involving over 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants and $100 million in revenue. A Worcester psychiatrist was sentenced for illegally distributing Adderall and Xanax to undercover agents without proper examinations. The Prescription Strike Force, ARPO’s successor, targets the diversion of all categories of controlled substances nationally.
The firm’s healthcare fraud defense practice brings over 25 years of combined experience at DOJ’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Drew Bradylyons supervised the Healthcare Fraud Unit’s Florida Strike Force at DOJ’s Fraud Section and later served as Chief of EDVA’s Financial Crimes and Public Corruption Unit. Andrea Savdie served as a Trial Attorney at DOJ’s Fraud Section Miami Strike Force, where she charged and tried complex healthcare fraud cases in the Southern District of Florida. The firm’s attorneys tried 17 federal jury trials in healthcare fraud cases at DOJ involving over $2.8 billion in alleged false and fraudulent claims.
The firm defends every controlled substances diversion and pill mill case from the start as if it will go to trial. That is not rhetoric. It reflects the operating principle of a firm built on 25 federal jury trials in complex fraud cases in federal courts across the country.
The firm’s lead defense attorney directed DOJ’s controlled substances strike force. Scott Armstrong directed ARPO at DOJ’s Fraud Section. He led the team of prosecutors and data analysts responsible for investigating and prosecuting medical professionals who illegally prescribed and distributed opioids and other controlled substances across Appalachia and the surrounding region. Scott tried prescription drug diversion cases as lead trial counsel. He knows how these cases are built because he built them.
That experience provides a specific advantage. Controlled substances diversion cases are built on DEA prescription monitoring data, ARCOS reporting, undercover operations, cooperating witness testimony, patient interviews, financial tracing, and claims data analytics. Whether the case involves opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin, benzodiazepines like Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium, or other controlled substances, the investigative playbook is the same. Scott understands how federal prosecutors and DEA agents select investigative targets, develop cooperating witnesses, analyze prescribing data, and present these cases to grand juries and at trial. He uses that understanding to defend individuals at every stage.
Trial experience shapes the defense from day one. The firm builds the factual record from the first day of engagement. It retains medical experts, pharmacology experts, pain management specialists, psychiatrists, and addiction medicine physicians. It analyzes prescribing data. It identifies weaknesses in the government’s cooperating witness testimony. It develops a defense theory that can be presented to a jury if the case goes to trial. That preparation provides leverage at every stage: pre-indictment, during plea negotiations, and at trial.
Drew Bradylyons brings additional depth. As a supervisor at DOJ’s Fraud Section, Drew oversaw healthcare fraud prosecutors handling complex, multi-defendant cases. As Chief of EDVA’s Financial Crimes Unit, he supervised the investigation and prosecution of fraud cases involving controlled substances. The firm’s combined experience at DOJ provides an unmatched understanding of how the government investigates, charges, and tries these cases.
Controlled substances diversion enforcement is a stated national priority. DOJ, the DEA, HHS-OIG, and the FBI devote substantial resources to investigating and prosecuting medical professionals who prescribe, distribute, or dispense controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice. The enforcement covers every drug category. The sentences are severe.
The Prescription Strike Force is the successor to ARPO. Born of ARPO’s success, the Prescription Strike Force broadened ARPO’s footprint in subject matter and geography. Operating from hubs in Nashville, Tennessee and Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, the Prescription Strike Force focuses on prescription drug crimes nationally. It targets the illegal prescribing, distribution, and diversion of all pharmaceutical-grade controlled substances, Medicare Part D fraud, and other schemes involving false or fraudulent representations related to prescription medications.
Opioid Diversion Enforcement
Opioid diversion remains the largest enforcement category. The 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown was the largest in history. DOJ charged 324 defendants in schemes involving over $14.6 billion in intended losses. Within that takedown, 74 defendants, including 44 medical professionals, were charged in 58 cases for the alleged diversion of more than 15 million pills of prescription opioids and other controlled substances. The DEA simultaneously charged 93 administrative cases seeking revocation of the authority to handle or prescribe controlled substances.
In July 2025, Operation Profit Over Patients resulted in approximately 51 arrests and 122 criminal charges targeting medical professionals who illegally distributed controlled substances. In Texas, a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, and others allegedly diverted more than 3 million opioids through a pill mill that sold prescriptions for cash. In Florida, a pharmacy owner and recruiter allegedly dispensed more than 335,000 pills of oxycodone 30mg to patients showing obvious signs of addiction and diversion.
Corporate enforcement is intensifying. In April 2025, Walgreens agreed to pay up to $350 million for illegally filling unlawful opioid prescriptions. In January 2026, Atlantic Biologicals Corporation entered into a deferred prosecution agreement admitting that its business unit sold over 14 million doses of opioids to pill mill pharmacies in the Houston diversion hot zone, despite red flags that included pharmacies operating out of strip malls with bars on the windows that rarely ordered anything other than commonly abused drugs.
Stimulant Diversion Enforcement
Stimulant enforcement is expanding rapidly. In November 2025, a federal jury convicted the founders of Done Global in the first-ever criminal prosecution for controlled substances distribution through a telehealth platform. Done Global arranged the prescribing of more than 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants while generating over $100 million in revenue. The company spent over $40 million on deceptive social media advertising targeting individuals seeking ADHD medication, capped clinical examination time, and prohibited follow-up encounters. In December 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Done Global itself. This case established a new enforcement model: DOJ now treats telehealth platforms that facilitate stimulant distribution without legitimate medical oversight as criminal enterprises.
Psychiatrists and other prescribers face individual prosecution as well. A Worcester psychiatrist was sentenced for repeatedly prescribing combinations of Adderall and Xanax to undercover agents without proper examinations or diagnostic testing. DEA and DOJ are applying the same investigative tools used in opioid diversion cases to Adderall, Ritalin, methylphenidate, and other Schedule II stimulants.
Benzodiazepine, Sedative, and Other Controlled Substances Enforcement
Federal enforcement extends to benzodiazepines (Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan), muscle relaxants (Soma), sedatives (Ambien), anabolic steroids, buprenorphine, and other controlled substances. The government targets prescribers who issue benzodiazepines or muscle relaxants in combination with opioids, creating dangerous cocktails that increase overdose risk. Combination prescribing is treated as strong evidence of diversion rather than legitimate medical practice. Buprenorphine prescribing is under increasing scrutiny as DOJ pursues providers who prescribe buprenorphine for cash without genuine addiction treatment services.
Sentences across all drug categories are among the harshest in healthcare fraud. A physician was sentenced to 18 years for writing narcotic prescriptions for cash. A pain management doctor received 14 years for illegally distributing opioids through in-house pharmacies. A Louisiana doctor was sentenced for illegally distributing over 1.8 million doses of opioids in a $5.4 million healthcare fraud scheme. A pharmacist received 17 and a half years and was ordered to pay over $115 million in restitution.
The firm’s defense practice is built on the direct experience of directing ARPO, trying diversion cases, and prosecuting complex healthcare fraud at DOJ’s Fraud Section. These tools are deployed at every phase of a case, regardless of the controlled substance involved.
Establishing That Prescribing Was Within the Usual Course of Professional Practice
The central question in every diversion case is whether the prescriber acted within the usual course of professional practice and for a legitimate medical purpose. This is true for opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and every other controlled substance. The firm retains independent pain management specialists, psychiatrists, addiction medicine physicians, and pharmacology experts to review prescribing decisions and demonstrate that the physician exercised legitimate medical judgment. The Supreme Court’s decision in Ruan v. United States strengthened the good-faith defense by requiring the government to prove that the defendant subjectively knew or intended to act outside the bounds of authorized medical practice.
Challenging the Government’s Prescription Pattern Evidence
Federal prosecutors build diversion cases on prescribing data from the DEA’s ARCOS system, state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs), pharmacy dispensing records, and Medicare Part D claims data. The government identifies prescribers whose volume, drug mix, geographic reach, and patient demographics deviate from peer benchmarks. The firm retains data analytics experts to challenge the government’s peer comparison methodology, identify flaws in the government’s statistical analysis, and demonstrate legitimate clinical explanations for prescribing patterns. This applies equally to outlier prescribing of opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and combination prescribing.
Defending DEA Registration, Immediate Suspension Orders, and Administrative Actions
The DEA pursues parallel administrative actions against prescribers under investigation. The DEA issued 93 administrative cases seeking revocation of prescribing authority during the 2025 Takedown alone. The firm defends practitioners against DEA immediate suspension orders (ISOs), orders to show cause (OTSCs), and administrative revocation proceedings under 21 U.S.C. § 824. Loss of DEA registration ends a medical practice. The firm coordinates the defense of parallel criminal and administrative proceedings to protect both a practitioner’s liberty and livelihood.
Attacking the Government’s Proof of Knowledge and Willful Conduct
Federal controlled substances violations require proof that the defendant acted knowingly and intentionally outside the bounds of professional practice. Good faith is a complete defense. The firm presents evidence of patient evaluations, clinical documentation, treatment plans, diagnostic testing, informed consent, compliance protocols, and reliance on clinical guidelines. Where the government relies on cooperating patient testimony or undercover buys, the firm attacks the credibility and reliability of those witnesses. Scott Armstrong has extensive experience cross-examining cooperating witnesses and undercover agents in federal healthcare fraud and diversion trials.
Federal controlled substances diversion investigations target every participant in the prescribing and dispensing chain: from the physicians who write prescriptions, to the pharmacists who fill them, the clinic owners who profit from them, the telehealth platforms that facilitate them, and the wholesalers who supply the drugs. Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends these individuals in federal investigations, after indictment, and at trial.
Defense of Physicians, Psychiatrists, and Prescribers
Prescribers are the primary targets. The firm defends physicians, pain management doctors, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants charged with illegally prescribing opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, sedatives, buprenorphine, and other controlled substances under 21 U.S.C. § 841. Psychiatrists face particular exposure in stimulant and benzodiazepine cases where DOJ alleges that ADHD diagnoses were not supported by DSM-5 criteria or that anxiolytics were prescribed without legitimate clinical evaluation. The firm defends prescribers by retaining pain management, psychiatry, and addiction medicine experts to establish that prescribing decisions reflected legitimate medical judgment, by challenging the government’s peer comparison data, and by presenting evidence of documented patient evaluations, treatment plans, and clinical oversight.
Defense of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Owners
The firm defends pharmacists and pharmacy owners charged with knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions for any controlled substance. Federal prosecutors allege that pharmacists dispensed controlled substances despite red flags indicating the prescriptions lacked a legitimate medical purpose: high-volume opioid or stimulant dispensing, out-of-area patients, cash-only transactions, and suspicious drug combinations. The firm defends pharmacists by demonstrating compliance with corresponding responsibility obligations under 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04, documenting verification steps taken before dispensing, and challenging the government’s characterization of red flags.
Defense of Pain Clinic, Pill Mill, and Psychiatric Practice Operators
The firm defends owners and operators of pain management clinics, psychiatric practices, and other medical facilities targeted as pill mills or illegal prescribing operations. Federal prosecutors use the pill mill label to describe clinics that allegedly operated as fronts for controlled substances distribution. The government targets facilities that saw high patient volumes, prescribed primarily opioids, stimulants, or benzodiazepines, accepted cash only, performed minimal examinations, and employed prescribers who signed prescriptions without individualized evaluations. The firm defends clinic operators against conspiracy charges, healthcare fraud, and money laundering by demonstrating legitimate clinical operations, appropriate medical oversight, and the absence of intent to distribute outside the usual course of professional practice.
Defense of Telehealth Companies and Platform Operators
The firm defends telehealth company founders, executives, and medical directors charged with using telehealth platforms to illegally distribute controlled substances. The Done Global prosecution in November 2025 established a new enforcement precedent: DOJ now charges telehealth companies and their executives for facilitating illegal stimulant distribution at scale. The government targets platforms that limit clinical examination time, prohibit follow-up care, use deceptive marketing to recruit patients, and generate prescriptions without legitimate practitioner-patient relationships. The firm defends telehealth executives by demonstrating legitimate clinical oversight, appropriate prescribing protocols, and compliance with DEA registration requirements for online prescribing.
Defense of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Distributors
The firm defends pharmaceutical wholesalers, distributors, and their executives charged with failing to maintain effective controls against diversion under the Controlled Substances Act. In January 2026, Atlantic Biologicals entered a deferred prosecution agreement for distributing over 14 million opioid doses to Houston pill mill pharmacies. DOJ and the DEA are targeting companies in the pharmaceutical supply chain that ignore red flags for diversion of opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and other controlled substances. The firm defends wholesaler executives by demonstrating compliance with suspicious order monitoring obligations and challenging the government’s theory that the company knowingly facilitated diversion.
Defense of Patient Recruiters and Staff
The firm defends patient recruiters, clinic staff, office managers, and others charged in controlled substances diversion and pill mill cases. These individuals face conspiracy charges under 21 U.S.C. § 846 and healthcare fraud charges. The government alleges they recruited patients, collected cash, processed fraudulent insurance claims, or facilitated prescribing operations. The firm defends these individuals by challenging the government’s evidence of knowledge, willful participation, and the scope of the alleged conspiracy.
Federal controlled substances diversion investigations follow a pattern. Understanding that pattern is the first step to defending against it. Scott Armstrong directed these investigations at ARPO. He led the team of prosecutors and data analysts who identified targets, developed evidence, and built cases for prosecution. He knows the playbook. The investigative tools are the same whether the case involves opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, or other controlled substances.
ARCOS Data and Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
The investigation often starts with data. The DEA’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) tracks every controlled substance from manufacturer to final distribution point. State Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) record every controlled substance prescription dispensed. Federal investigators use ARCOS and PDMP data to identify prescribers with anomalous prescribing volumes, drug mix concentrations, patient geographic patterns, and pharmacy dispensing partners. This applies to every drug schedule. Prescribers who appear as outliers in this data become investigative targets.
Medicare Part D Claims Data Analysis
DOJ, HHS-OIG, and CMS analyze Medicare Part D claims data to detect fraud and abuse in prescription drug programs. The government identifies prescribers whose controlled substance prescribing patterns diverge from peer benchmarks, whose patients fill prescriptions at geographically distant pharmacies, or whose prescribing generates anomalous costs. The Health Care Fraud Data Fusion Center combines data from DOJ, HHS-OIG, FBI, DEA, and CMS to generate proactive investigative referrals. Part D data captures prescribing of all controlled substances, including opioids, stimulants, and benzodiazepines.
Undercover Operations
The DEA deploys undercover agents and cooperating individuals to obtain prescriptions from targeted prescribers. Undercover patients present with no legitimate medical complaint or with fabricated symptoms. In opioid cases, agents present with fabricated pain complaints. In stimulant cases, agents present with fabricated ADHD symptoms. In benzodiazepine cases, agents present with fabricated anxiety. The government uses the resulting prescriptions as direct evidence that the prescriber issued controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose. The interactions are recorded. The firm challenges undercover operations by demonstrating that the prescriber conducted an appropriate examination and exercised medical judgment consistent with the clinical presentation.
Patient Interviews and Cooperating Witnesses
Federal agents interview current and former patients. They identify patients who will testify that they did not need the controlled substances, that they sold or traded the medications, that they visited the clinic solely to obtain drugs, or that they paid cash for prescriptions. Cooperating witnesses are the backbone of many diversion cases. The firm cross-examines cooperating patients on their criminal histories, plea agreements, sentencing exposure, and motivations for cooperating. Scott Armstrong has extensive first-chair trial experience cross-examining cooperating witnesses in federal healthcare fraud and controlled substances cases.
Financial Tracing
Federal investigators trace the money. They analyze bank records, cash deposits, payment platform transactions, subscription revenue, and lifestyle evidence to identify income inconsistent with legitimate medical practice. In pill mill cases, large cash deposits, structured transactions, and cash payments for luxury assets are treated as evidence of drug distribution proceeds. In telehealth stimulant cases, the government traces subscription revenue and advertising expenditures to establish the scale of the distribution scheme. The firm retains forensic accountants to challenge the government’s financial analysis and demonstrate legitimate sources of income.
DEA Parallel Administrative Actions
The DEA pursues administrative actions in parallel with criminal investigations. The DEA can issue an Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) that immediately revokes a practitioner’s DEA registration and authority to prescribe controlled substances, based on a finding of imminent danger to public health or safety. The DEA issued 93 administrative cases seeking revocation during the 2025 Takedown. Loss of DEA registration effectively ends a medical practice. The firm defends practitioners in these parallel proceedings while protecting against disclosures that could create additional criminal exposure.
Search Warrants and Electronic Evidence
Federal agents execute search warrants at clinics, pharmacies, residences, and storage facilities. They seize patient records, financial records, prescription pads, electronic health records, cell phones, and computers. They obtain cloud warrants under 18 U.S.C. § 2703 for email accounts, text messages, and cloud storage. In telehealth diversion cases, the government targets platform communications, prescriber dashboards, internal policy documents, and marketing materials. Communications between prescribers, clinic staff, and patients are analyzed for evidence of knowledge that prescriptions lacked a legitimate medical purpose.
Federal controlled substances diversion prosecutions are charged under both the Controlled Substances Act and traditional healthcare fraud statutes. The government stacks counts aggressively. Individual prescriptions can be charged as separate counts. The sentencing exposure is extraordinary.
Illegal Distribution of Controlled Substances (21 U.S.C. § 841)
The primary charging statute in controlled substances diversion cases. Section 841 prohibits the distribution and dispensing of controlled substances except as authorized by the Controlled Substances Act. For prescribers, this means issuing prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. For pharmacists, it means knowingly filling unlawful prescriptions. The penalty depends on the drug schedule and quantity. For Schedule II substances, including opioids and amphetamines, the maximum is 20 years per count. If death or serious bodily injury results, the mandatory minimum is 20 years. For Schedule IV substances like benzodiazepines, the maximum is 5 years per count.
Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances (21 U.S.C. § 846)
Conspiracy charges are standard in diversion cases. The government uses conspiracy to link prescribers, pharmacists, clinic owners, telehealth executives, patient recruiters, and staff into a single charge. The penalties for conspiracy mirror the penalties for the underlying distribution offense. A conspiracy conviction does not require proof that the defendant personally wrote a single prescription or dispensed a single pill.
Healthcare Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1347)
Healthcare fraud is charged alongside controlled substances counts when the prescribing generated fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, or private insurance. In the Done Global case, healthcare fraud charges were based on false prior authorizations and fraudulent claims for Adderall prescriptions. The penalty is up to 10 years per count. If the fraud results in serious bodily injury, the maximum increases to 20 years. If death results, the maximum is life imprisonment.
Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b)
The Anti-Kickback Statute is charged in diversion cases involving payments for patient referrals. Pill mill operations that pay patient recruiters, runners, or marketers to steer patients to the clinic face AKS charges in addition to distribution and fraud charges. Violations carry up to 10 years per violation.
Use of a Communication Facility (21 U.S.C. § 843)
Section 843 prohibits using any communication facility, including telephones, email, telehealth platforms, and electronic prescribing systems, to facilitate the distribution of controlled substances. Each use of a communication facility in furtherance of a drug distribution offense is a separate count carrying up to four years. In telehealth diversion cases, the platform itself may constitute the communication facility.
Money Laundering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1956, 1957)
Money laundering charges are standard in large controlled substances diversion prosecutions. The government charges money laundering when it alleges that defendants conducted financial transactions with the proceeds of drug distribution or healthcare fraud. Money laundering carries up to 20 years per count. In pill mill cases involving substantial cash and in telehealth cases involving subscription revenue, money laundering exposure often exceeds the exposure for the underlying distribution charges.
Federal Program Exclusion, DEA Revocation, and Collateral Consequences
Beyond incarceration, a conviction or settlement in a controlled substances diversion case triggers mandatory exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, and all federal healthcare programs under the authority of HHS-OIG. The DEA revokes registration to prescribe, distribute, and handle controlled substances. State medical boards, pharmacy boards, and nursing boards initiate separate disciplinary proceedings. For medical professionals, these collateral consequences permanently end a career. The firm defends practitioners in parallel criminal, administrative, and licensing proceedings.
What Is DOJ’s ARPO Strike Force and Why Does It Matter for Controlled Substances Defense?
The Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force (ARPO) was created by DOJ’s Criminal Division in 2018 to investigate and prosecute medical professionals involved in the illegal prescription and distribution of opioids and other controlled substances in the Appalachian region and surrounding areas. ARPO operated across 10 federal districts in six states: West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Over approximately four years, ARPO charged more than 120 defendants collectively responsible for prescribing over 115 million controlled substance pills. The 2019 ARPO Takedown alone charged 60 defendants, including 53 medical professionals, in connection with over 350,000 prescriptions and more than 32 million pills. ARPO evolved into the Prescription Strike Force, which broadened ARPO’s footprint to cover all controlled substances nationally.
Scott Armstrong served as Director of ARPO. He led the prosecutors and data analysts who identified targets and built cases. That direct leadership of federal controlled substances enforcement is the foundation of the firm’s defense practice in diversion cases involving opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and all other controlled substances.
What Is the “Legitimate Medical Purpose” Standard in Controlled Substances Cases?
The Controlled Substances Act authorizes physicians to prescribe controlled substances only when the prescription is issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting in the usual course of professional practice. This standard applies to every controlled substance: opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, sedatives, muscle relaxants, anabolic steroids, and buprenorphine. When the government charges a physician under 21 U.S.C. § 841, it must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the physician knew the prescriptions were issued outside these boundaries.
The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Ruan v. United States clarified this standard. Ruan held that the government must prove that the physician subjectively knew or intended to act in an unauthorized manner. A physician who acts in good faith, based on a genuine clinical assessment, has a defense even if the prescribing was objectively unreasonable. This is a critical defense tool in diversion cases involving any controlled substance.
What Are the Penalties for a Federal Controlled Substances Diversion Conviction?
The penalties are severe and vary by drug schedule and quantity. Distribution of Schedule II substances (opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone, stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin) under 21 U.S.C. § 841 carries up to 20 years per count. If death or serious bodily injury results, the mandatory minimum is 20 years. Distribution of Schedule IV substances (benzodiazepines like Xanax and Klonopin) carries up to 5 years per count. Healthcare fraud carries up to 10 years. Money laundering carries up to 20 years.
Beyond incarceration, defendants face federal healthcare program exclusion, DEA registration revocation, medical license revocation, asset forfeiture, and restitution. For medical professionals, these collateral consequences permanently end a career.
Does the Government Prosecute Stimulant and Adderall Diversion Like Opioid Diversion?
Yes. DOJ is applying the same investigative tools and prosecution theories to stimulant diversion that it developed for opioid diversion. In November 2025, the founders of Done Global were convicted in the first-ever criminal prosecution for controlled substances distribution through a telehealth platform. The scheme involved over 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants and $100 million in revenue. In December 2025, Done Global itself was indicted.
Psychiatrists and other prescribers face individual prosecution for illegally prescribing stimulants. The government targets prescribers who diagnose ADHD without meeting DSM-5 criteria, who prescribe stimulants without adequate clinical evaluation, or who issue stimulant prescriptions through telehealth platforms without genuine practitioner-patient relationships. The DEA uses the same ARCOS data, PDMP records, and undercover operations to investigate stimulant diversion that it uses for opioids.
How Does Ruan v. United States Affect the Defense of Prescribers?
The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Ruan v. United States is the most significant defense development in controlled substances diversion law in decades. The Court held that the government must prove the defendant subjectively knew or intended that their conduct was unauthorized. An honest but mistaken belief that prescribing was medically appropriate is a defense.
Ruan shifted the burden in practice. Before Ruan, some circuits allowed convictions based on an objective standard of care. Now, the government must prove what the physician actually knew and intended, not merely that the prescribing fell below a standard of care. This defense applies to opioid, stimulant, benzodiazepine, and all other controlled substances prescribing. The firm uses Ruan at every stage: in motion practice, in jury instructions, and in arguments to the jury.
Can a Pharmacist Be Charged for Filling Prescriptions Written by a Licensed Physician?
Yes. Pharmacists have a corresponding responsibility under 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04 to ensure that a prescription was issued for a legitimate medical purpose. A pharmacist who fills a prescription despite red flags indicating it lacks a legitimate medical purpose faces criminal liability under 21 U.S.C. § 841. This applies to prescriptions for opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and all other controlled substances.
The government identifies red flags including high-volume prescriptions from a single prescriber, cash-only payments, patients traveling long distances, dangerous drug combinations (opioids plus benzodiazepines plus muscle relaxants), and prescriptions inconsistent with the prescriber’s specialty. The firm defends pharmacists by demonstrating they took reasonable steps to verify prescriptions and exercised professional judgment consistent with their corresponding responsibility obligations.
What Is a DEA Immediate Suspension Order and How Does It Affect a Practitioner?
An Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) is an emergency administrative action by which the DEA immediately suspends a practitioner’s DEA registration upon a finding of imminent danger to public health or safety under 21 U.S.C. § 824(d). An ISO takes effect immediately upon service. The practitioner cannot prescribe or handle any controlled substances from that moment forward.
An ISO can be issued before any criminal charges are filed. Practitioners who receive an ISO need immediate legal representation. The firm challenges the factual basis for the ISO, seeks expedited administrative hearings, and coordinates the defense of parallel administrative and criminal proceedings to avoid making disclosures in the administrative case that could create additional criminal exposure.
Can Telehealth Companies Be Charged with Controlled Substances Distribution?
Yes. The Done Global prosecution established a new enforcement model. In November 2025, the founders of Done Global were convicted for using a telehealth platform to illegally distribute over 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants. In December 2025, the company itself was indicted. DOJ now treats telehealth platforms that facilitate controlled substances distribution without legitimate medical oversight as criminal enterprises.
The government targets telehealth companies that cap clinical examination time, prohibit follow-up care, use deceptive marketing, pay prescribers based on prescription volume, and generate prescriptions without genuine practitioner-patient relationships. Telehealth founders, CEOs, medical directors, and prescribers all face individual criminal liability. The firm defends telehealth executives by demonstrating legitimate clinical oversight and compliance with DEA registration and prescribing requirements.
What Is the Prescription Strike Force and How Did It Evolve from ARPO?
The Prescription Strike Force is DOJ’s national enforcement unit for prescription drug crimes. It was born of ARPO’s success. While ARPO focused on the Appalachian region across 10 federal districts in six states, the Prescription Strike Force broadened both the subject matter and geographic reach. Operating from hubs in Nashville, Tennessee and Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, the Prescription Strike Force focuses on the illegal prescribing, distribution, and diversion of all controlled substances nationally, Medicare Part D fraud, and other schemes involving false or fraudulent representations related to prescription medications.
In the 2025 Takedown, 74 defendants, including 44 medical professionals, were charged in 58 cases for the diversion of more than 15 million pills. The Prescription Strike Force remains one of DOJ’s most active enforcement units.
Does Armstrong & Bradylyons Handle Controlled Substances Cases Nationwide?
Yes. Armstrong & Bradylyons PLLC defends individuals in federal controlled substances diversion, pill mill, and illegal prescribing investigations and prosecutions in every federal district court in the country. The firm defends cases involving opioids, stimulants, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, sedatives, buprenorphine, anabolic steroids, and all other controlled substances.
Enforcement is active nationwide. The Prescription Strike Force, DEA Diversion Control Division, HHS-OIG, and FBI investigate cases in every region of the country, with particularly active enforcement in Appalachia (West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia), the Southern District of Florida, the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas, the Northern District of California, the Middle District of Florida, and the Eastern District of Virginia.
Scott Armstrong directed ARPO across 10 federal districts in six states and tried prescription drug diversion cases as lead trial counsel. Drew Bradylyons supervised healthcare fraud prosecutors at DOJ and oversaw controlled substances cases as Chief of EDVA’s Financial Crimes Unit. The firm is based in Washington, D.C. and represents clients in every jurisdiction where DOJ, the DEA, and HHS-OIG bring controlled substances cases.