HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The owners of two Houston clinics and a Conroe pharmacy are accused of taking part in a pill mill operation, which saw more than 3 million pills improperly prescribed.<\/p>\n
Tonya Crowder, Marlene Durham, and Demetrius Onuaguluchi were indicted last week in federal court.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, the clinics only accepted cash, and many of the patients were paid by so-called “crew leaders” to seek prescriptions for controlled substances like oxycodone and hydrocodone.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say patients would get their prescriptions filled at Wellwise Pharmacy, which is owned by Onuaguluchi, and “crew leaders” would then take possession of the drugs to “divert to street-level distribution.”<\/p>\n
The operation is alleged to have taken place between 2021 and 2025.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, Westheimer Clinic in west Houston was co-owned by Marlene Durham and a licensed doctor, who wasn’t named in the indictment.<\/p>\n
THC Clinic in southwest Houston was co-owned by Tonya Crowder and the same unnamed doctor.<\/p>\n
The indictment alleges the doctor provided Crowder, Durham, and others with his DEA registration number so that they could authorize prescriptions.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t return an email asking if the doctor would face charges.<\/p>\n
“Americans should never have to wonder whether a prescription was written because it was needed or because someone saw an opportunity to profit,” DEA Administrator Terry Cole said at a press conference announcing the charges Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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