A Florida corporation that operated a pain clinic in Garden City admitted in court the facility was a pill mill and agreed to plea guilty to charges stemming from its operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Nuvest, LLC on Thursday admitted through counsel to U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. the East Health Center was opened to dispense oxycodone, hydrocodone and other drugs without a legitimate medical purpose, said James D. Durcham, first assistant U.S. attorney.
The corporation agreed to forfeit $2,000,000, a sum representing the proceeds it obtained through the the clinic.
An extensive financial investigation of Nuvest, LLC was conducted by the DEA, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the IRS’ Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Karl Knoche, Greg Gilluly, and Jeff Buerstatte are prosecuting the case for the Government.
“Pill mills are opened for the sole purpose of profiting from the unlawful dispensation of powerful, addictive, and often dangerous drugs,” said U.S. District Attorney Edward Tarver. “These drugs are abused by either the patients visiting the clinics or end up being unlawfully sold to others. An important goal in all of our law enforcement efforts is to deprive violators of their ill-gotten gains. I am confident that this prosecution sends a clear and unmistakable message that the United States intends to pursue the forfeiture of unlawful drug proceeds with great vigor.”