Doctor under fire for alleged diet drug misconduct reaches settlement

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Tallahassee physician has agreed to pay $60,000 to settle allegations that she violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida (USAO) has announced.

Mary C. Watson of Tallahassee agreed to the settlement after previously voluntarily surrendering her DEA registration in October 2023. Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the settlement.

“This settlement, involving a fine and surrender of the physician’s DEA registration, reinforces required compliance with the Controlled Substances Act,” said Mr Coody.

“Accurate record-keeping is not only required but helps ensure controlled substances are not abused by physicians and diverted for personal use. With the assistance of investigators in the Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Program, we remain committed to holding physicians accountable for their responsibilities under federal law.”

Dr  Watson entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida after the investigation reportedly revealed numerous potential violations of the CSA. The government contended that Watson issued at least 76 controlled substance prescriptions for Phendimentrazine (a diet drug) and failed to maintain any patient files for those prescriptions.

“The Controlled Substance Act requires DEA registrants to maintain accurate inventorying, tracking, and record-keeping to prevent the diversion of controlled substances,” said DEA Miami Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter.

“The DEA Miami Field Division remains committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to hold DEA registrants accountable to protect the safety and health of our Florida communities.”

This civil settlement agreement is not an admission of any liability by Dr. Watson nor a concession by the United States that its potential claims were not well-founded.

Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Ann Couch and Marie Moyle represented the United States in this matter, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Program.