Michael T. Harris, 45, of Gulf Breeze, Florida, entered a guilty plea to the charges of acquiring controlled substances by fraud, and using a means of identification of another person in connection to the offense of acquiring controlled substances by fraud. The guilty plea was announced by Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
Documents introduced at the time of the guilty plea allege that between November 4, 2015, and August 11, 2016, on at least 24 separate occasions, Harris presented fraudulent prescriptions to various pharmacies in the Santa Rosa County area to obtain methadone, morphine sulfate, oxycodone, and alprazolam. During that time, Harris worked as a physician at a medical facility in Gulf Breeze and shared office space with other physicians. Harris forged another physician’s signature or used the physician’s pre-signed prescriptions without the physician’s authorization. On each occasion, Harris used a means of identification of the physician without the physician’s authorization, namely, the physician’s specifically assigned Drug Enforcement Administration Registration number, to acquire methadone, morphine sulfate, oxycodone, and alprazolam. In total, between the above-mentioned dates, Harris used fraudulent prescriptions to acquire approximately 1622 methadone pills, approximately 570 morphine sulfate pills, approximately 120 oxycodone pills, and approximately 40 alprazolam pills using fraudulent prescriptions.
Harris faces up to four years’ imprisonment for the charge of acquiring controlled substances by fraud, and up to twenty years’ imprisonment for the charge of using a means of identification of another person in connection to the offense of acquiring controlled substances by fraud. Harris is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2020.
“Society places a large measure of trust in the hands of licensed physicians, and it’s profoundly disturbing when a respected professional abuses that trust to illegally obtain controlled substances,” U.S. Attorney Keefe said. “In addition, this doctor’s actions undermined the trust placed in him by his fellow physicians, pharmacists, and others in the medical profession.”
This case resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, and the Gulf Breeze Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney J. Ryan Love is prosecuting the case. “The DEA Miami Field Division is committed to bringing to justice any medical professional who violates the law and the trust placed in them by society,” said Kevin W. Carter, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Miami Field Division.”
