Ten individuals, including Dr. John Michael Korzelius of Camarillo, face federal drug trafficking and fraud charges after a two-year investigation by DEA and IRS agents resulted in two federal grand jury indictments. The charges allege that the individuals were part of a narcotics scam that sold illegal opioids for cash through fraudulent pain clinics. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Kozelius and other medical professionals are alleged to have met with fraudulent patients, and written prescriptions in exchange for cash, prescribing “439,090 pills of 30mg oxycodone – the highest dose of short-acting oxycodone available, and the dose most popular for the drug-abusing population, according to court documents.” The charges include “conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute oxycodone, distribution of fentanyl, and money laundering.”
As part of the investigation, DEA agents seized over twenty thousand oxycodone pills, and $177,610 in cash. Four of the 10 individuals charged have been arrested, four have been summonsed, and another two are considered fugitives from law enforcement.