According to authorities, the pill mill filled fraudulent prescriptions for over one million doses of pain medication, including oxycodone and hydromorphone. The highly addictive prescription pain pills have an estimated street value in excess of $16 million, authorities said.

Authorities said that the defendants used unlicensed medical workers as well as doctors to issue fraudulent prescriptions for medications that were then sold throughout South Florida. Prescriptions issued by the center were found as far away as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

The defendants face charges including conspiracy to sell illegal drugs, conspiracy to sell oxycodone, and racketeering. They will be prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution, part of the Attorney General’s Office. There is a 25-year mandatory minimum prison sentence associated with the drug trafficking conspiracy charges.

People who fraudulently or negligently prescribe medications that cause harm to users may also face civil lawsuits. People who are injured as a result of pharmaceutical negligence may be able to obtain compensation through a lawsuit. Contact Joyce & Reyes for more information.

If you need to speak with a auto accident lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

Michele Gonzalez and Jorge Gonzalez-Betancourt were convicted of racketeering and drug trafficking charges in March. The married couple were the owners of 1st Medical Group, a licensed pain clinic that prosecutors say the pair used as a front to sell opioid prescriptions to addicts and dealers, some of whom traveled from faraway states to reach the supplier.

The trial lasted four and a half months, with five days of jury deliberation. At sentencing, the Gonzalezes and their former office manager, Maureen Altman, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison. The Gonzalezes were each fined $750,000, and Altman was fined $500,000. Altman was the only defendant to address the court, saying that she took the job in order to support herself.

Judge Caroline Tesche said the defendants were responsible for an organized criminal enterprise that profited on the backs of addicts.

People who have suffered harm due to improper prescription and dispensation of drugs may be able to obtain compensation by pursuing a pharmaceutical negligence lawsuit. Contact Joyce & Reyes to learn more about your rights.

If you need to speak with a personal injury lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

Zachary Timothy Rose pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and was facing up to 30 years in prison, but he received a reduced sentence after he testified against doctors who worked with him and employees of the clinics he owned.

The three Jacksonville pain clinics brought in approximately $9.5 million from their opening in December 2009 to July 2010, when they were closed. Many buyers of Xanax and oxycodone traveled there from Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, intending to sell the drugs in their home state for a profit.

Rose testified against five of his former associates, including three doctors who wrote thousands of prescriptions, an investor and a manager. Rose said the men knew they were working for an illegal pill mill, but all five men were acquitted after their defense attorneys portrayed Rose as the mastermind and a con artist.

Prosecutors said that the pill mills took advantage of individuals with serious drug addictions and caused injury to innocent people.

Individuals who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous doctors and pill mills in this way may be entitled to compensation through a lawsuit for pharmaceutical negligence. Contact Joyce & Reyes to learn more.

If you need to speak with a personal injury lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.