Tamral Guzman And Brian Hatcher Sentenced

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- On Apr. 18, 2103, Tamral S. Guzman, 42, of Blount County, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 258 months in federal prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. This sentence was the result of her August 2012 trial conviction of multiple drug, money laundering and structuring offenses, contained in a 57-count indictment, as well as her guilty plea in January 2013 to a charge of failure to appear.

Guzman was also ordered to forfeit all proceeds of her crimes, including three houses, a fishing boat, and more than $197,000 that had been seized by federal authorities following her arrest. The court also entered a money judgment of more than $2.5 million against Guzman, representing additional funds subject to forfeiture as a result of her crimes.

Guzman's criminal conviction came as a result of her operating Maryville Pain Management from August 2008 until it was closed by federal authorities in December 2010. During the sentencing hearing, the court heard testimony that customers seeking prescriptions for drugs visited the pain clinic on more than 11,000 occasions while it was open.

Brian Hatcher, 33, also of Blount County, was also sentenced on Apr. 18, 2013, to serve 130 months in prison for assisting Guzman in her failure to appear and for intimidation of a witness. In October 2012, prior to the conclusion of Guzman's trial, Hatcher and Guzman fled to Hollywood, Fla., where they lived for approximately one month before being apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service agents on October 31, 2012.

The conviction of Guzman and Hatcher came as a result of a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Blount County 5th Judicial Drug Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Kolman and Frank M. Dale, Jr. represented the United States.