A doctor and eight employees of a South Florida medical clinic are facing manslaughter, racketeering and other charges in what authorities say was a massive pill mill operation.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests Wednesday as part of a five-year investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Agency and in conjunction with the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Authorities say a review by the DEA shows that from January through July 2010, Dr. Lynn Averill issued prescriptions of alprazolam, methadone and oxycodone without medical necessity, causing overdose deaths of at least eight patients. During the investigation, undercover agents posed as patients and were given drugs without ever receiving a physical exam.
Officials say Averill and the clinic owners were aware of patients dying from overdoses and continued to issue prescriptions.
