Pain clinic shut down, doctor prohibited from prescribing controlled substances

FLORIDA — A federal court has ordered a Florida pain clinic to close, and the clinic’s owners have been ordered to pay civil penalties for their alleged roles in the unlawful distribution of opioids, the US Justice Department (DOJ) has announced. 

According to the DOJ, the court ordered the Tampa-area pain management clinic to close and entered judgments against the clinic’s owners and its former physician to restrict their ability to prescribe or distribute opioids in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the Justice Department announced today. 

In a complaint filed in October 2022, the United States alleged that Dr. Vivian Herrero, Christopher Ferguson, and Patricia Ferguson violated the CSA by issuing prescriptions for controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose. The complaint also alleged that the Fergusons used Phoenix Medical Management Care Centers Inc., a Tarpon Springs, Florida pain clinic, to unlawfully distribute controlled substances by issuing illegitimate prescriptions.  

The complaint further alleged that two Phoenix patients died soon after receiving opioid prescriptions issued by Herrero and that drug toxicity played a role in those deaths. 

“Medical professionals who facilitate the unlawful use of opioids ignore their obligations under the law,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  

“The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to stop the illegal prescribing, dispensing, and distribution of potentially dangerous prescription drugs.” 

The court’s order, entered on June 29 pursuant to agreed stipulations, permanently prohibits the Fergusons from employment involving the distribution of controlled substances. The order prohibits Herrero from prescribing controlled substances for 10 years and permanently prohibits her from prescribing controlled substances relating to pain management and other restrictions.  

The complaint alleged that Herrero wrote illegitimate prescriptions for powerful opioids and other drugs despite obvious signs of abuse or diversion and without a legitimate medical basis.  

The court also ordered the defendants to pay nearly $20,000 in civil penalties based on their ability to pay. 

U.S. District Judge Stephen Merryday entered the consent decree in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. 

DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in the Tampa District Office conducted the investigation. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay S. Griffin and Kelley Howard-Allen and Trial Attorneys Scott B. Dahlquist and Thomas S. Rosso of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. 

The claims made in the complaint are merely allegations that the United States would need to prove if the case proceeded to trial.