Physician Pleads Guilty To Acquiring Controlled Substances By Fraud And Using A Means of Identification Of Another To Acquire Controlled Substances By Fraud

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – 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.”

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that
serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access
public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District
of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the
history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.