Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Company Admits to Receiving More than $2.5 Million from Sales of Opioids and Other Commony Abused Prescription Drugs to Houston-Area Pill Mill Pharmacies
Atlantic Biologicals Corporation, a pharmaceutical wholesaler based in Miami, has entered into a two-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department in connection with a criminal information filed in the Southern District of Florida charging it with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances. As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Atlantic Biologicals admitted that its business unit National Apothecary Solutions (NAS), through its employees and agents, sold opioid pills to certain Houston area pill mill pharmacies, knowing and intending that the pharmacies would dispense the pills outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. NAS commenced cessation of operations in or about November 2025, after selling over 14 million doses of opioids and opioid potentiators to pill mill pharmacies in the diversion “hot zone” of Houston, Texas.
“Atlantic Biologicals abused its trusted position in the pharmaceutical supply chain when it supplied Houston-area pill mill pharmacies with powerful, addictive opioids and other commonly abused controlled substances solely for its own financial gain,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Yesterday’s resolution demonstrates the Criminal Division’s longstanding commitment to holding corporations accountable when they fuel the opioid crisis. This resolution sends a clear message that the Criminal Division will not stop at prosecuting individuals but will also hold to account corporate criminal actors.”
“Atlantic Biologicals did not make a mistake, it made a choice,” said Assistant Administrator Cheri Oz of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Diversion Control Division. “A choice to put millions of opioid pills into the hands of Houston-area pill mills, knowing full well those drugs would be diverted, abused, and used to exploit vulnerable communities. When companies inside the pharmaceutical supply chain abandon their duty and chase profit over patients, they become part of the opioid crisis, not a cure for it. This case makes one point absolutely clear: if you knowingly fuel addiction and criminal diversion, no boardroom, badge, or business model will shield you from accountability. DEA will hold every registrant to the standards of the law — and the standards the American people deserve. “
“Atlantic Biologicals helped flood communities with addictive opioids, ignoring safeguards meant to protect patients and federal health care programs,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “To the companies fueling the opioid crisis: we will find you, we will expose you, and we will hold you accountable.”
Joshua Weinstein, the former president of NAS, Atlantic Biologicals’ business unit that sold pharmaceutical opioids, other controlled and non-controlled drugs, and medical goods to independent pharmacies; Derrick Chad Atkinson, a former independent sales representative contracted by NAS; and Jason Smith, the former owner of Proven Rx Sales LLC (Proven), a consulting company that worked with NAS, each previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense, and possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances. Joseph Pesserillo and Cassandra Rivera, former employes of Proven, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to use a communications facility to further commission of a felony controlled substance offense.
According to court documents and admissions, from 2017 through May 2023, NAS sold Houston-area pill mill pharmacies millions of highly-addictive opioids, specifically oxycodone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone pills (“Commonly Abused Opioids”), as well as other controlled substances such as carisoprodol and alprazolam (known as “potentiators”) that are used to enhance the high users sought from the opioids (collectively, “Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs”). The pill mills diverted the drugs into the black market in the Houston area. As part of the deferred prosecution agreement, Atlantic Biologicals acknowledged its responsibility for the conspiracy and admitted that NAS realized gross proceeds of at least $2,508,735. 85 from sales to certain specifically-identified Houston area pill mill pharmacies, knowing and intending that the pharmacies would dispense the pills outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) makes it unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled substance, “except as authorized”. Manufacturers, distributors, and other individuals appropriately licensed and registered with the DEA — commonly called registrants — are authorized under the CSA to conduct controlled-substance transactions within the legitimate distribution chain. However, it is unlawful for a registrant to distribute opioids like oxycodone and hydrocodone when the registrant knows or intends they are being sought for an illegitimate purpose. Pharmacies operate legitimately only when they dispense these drugs pursuant to valid prescriptions issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a doctor or other practitioner acting in the usual course of professional practice.
According to court documents and admissions, NAS sold the Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs to pill mill pharmacies at a large markup. NAS also employed purported compliance measures that were circumvented in order to further the unlawful sales, such as requiring pharmacies to order controlled drugs in a specific ratio to their non-controlled purchases and setting monthly ordering quantities for pharmacies’controlled drug purchases. Many of NAS’s pharmacy customers exhibited red flags for diversion that included rarely ordering any controlled drug, in any strength, other than the Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs; almost always ordering as many of these drugs as NAS would sell them per month; expressing strong preferences for certain pill colors and shapes; ordering non-controlled drugs in suspicious patterns, including almost always ordering large quantities and limited varieties in exactly the quantities necessary to meet their NAS-imposed ordering ratio; a willingness to pay well-over-market prices to acquire both the Commonly Abused Prescription Drugs and the non-controlled drugs required to meet NAS’s ratio; maintaining hours of operation inconsistent with those of a legitimate pharmacy; and submitting photos as part of NAS’s due diligence process that depicted locations in strip malls with bars on the windows and doors and nothing for sale in customer areas.
The deferred prosecution agreement requires Atlantic Biologicals to, among other obligations, provide ongoing cooperation with and disclosures to the Justice Department, implement a compliance and ethics program to prevent violations of the CSA, and report to the Justice Department regarding remediation and implementation of these compliance measures. As part of the agreement, Atlantic Biologicals agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $450,000. This penalty has been adjusted based on Atlantic Biologicals’ ability to pay.
The government reached this resolution with Atlantic Biologicals based on a number of factors, including the nature and seriousness of the offense conduct, and that the company in May 2023 voluntarily ceased selling controlled substances to independently-owned pharmacies and later voluntarily closed the NAS business line responsible for the offense conduct. Atlantic Biologicals did not voluntarily and timely self-disclose the conduct to the Justice Department but did receive credit for its cooperation with the Department’s investigation, which included providing factual presentations to the government, collecting and organizing voluminous evidence and information, including financial information, and working with the government to expeditiously review potentially privileged documents seized pursuant to a search warrant and identify non-privileged documents for release to the government.
The criminal case is being investigated by DEA, the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the Texas Office of the Attorney General-Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Trial Attorneys Miriam L. Glaser Dauermann and Drew Pennebaker of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www. justice. gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.