Federal court shutters clinic, orders it to pay $600k for alleged 'unlawful opioid distribution'

The U.S. Department of Justice this week announced a major fine and an outright closure against a Florida clinic for allegedly distributing opioids while "ignoring obvious signs of drug abuse and diversion."

Tobias Bacaner and Paragon Community Healthcare have been ordered to pay $600,000, the Justice Department said in a press release, with Bacaner shouldering $500,000 of that fine. 

“Physicians who prescribe opioids without a legitimate medical purpose and outside of the usual course of professional practice and others who facilitate that conduct will be held accountable,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said in the release. 

Bacaner is prohibited from "prescribing, administering, dispensing or distributing controlled substances, among other restrictions," the Justice Department said, while Paragon Clinic has been ordered to "permanently close" with its owners facing restrictions on working "at entities that administer, dispense or distribute controlled substances in the future."