DEA Audits and DEA Investigations | DEA Lawyers

The Drug Enforcement Agency investigates and monitors drug crimes and trafficking. Typically the agency focuses on major drug trafficking and doctors or pharmacies suspected of illegally prescribing opiates. If you have received a DEA inspection or audit notice, you should seek legal counsel from an attorney immediately on your DEA audit.

Warrants and Notices of Inspection

Unlike conducting a search for a criminal proceeding, the dea is not required to have a search warrant for an inspection that is to determine whether your practice is compliant with the Controlled Substance Act. dea Audit’s are very common and happen with little to no warning.

However, if other agencies are involved with the same criminal investigation, in order to do an audit, the dea needs a warrant to search your practice or clinic. Once an administrative inspection warrant is presented, you must consent to the inspection.

In a dea/defense-lawyers/nyc-dea-audits-investigations-lawyers/”>DEA audit, if dea inspectors present DEA Form 82, you must give informed consent before the audit or inspection can begin. This is a written statement from you affirming that you were informed of your constitutional rights not to agree to the administrative inspection.

Through this statement, you are also affirming your awareness that if anything of incriminating nature is found, it can be used against you during a criminal prosecution.

In some cases, an informed consent is not needed for the dea to conduct the inspection, even without an administrative search warrant (more on this below). This occurs when:

• You are applying for an initial dea registration
• There is a dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA audit related issued subpoena to inspect books and records
• There is imminent danger to public safety and health
• The opportunity to apply for a warrant does not exist

DEA Audits – Administrative Search Warrants for Inspections

To do the dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA audit, the agency must obtain an administrative inspection warrant if you refuse to give informed consent for an audit. Unlike the search warrant, the dea is not required to show probable cause for the administrative search warrant.

To obtain this warrant for an inspection, the agency is only required to describe the nature and extent of why it needs to search your facility. The explanation should also include items the agency wishes to seize. This type of warrant is routinely granted.

You must comply if in the audit, the dea presents an administrative search warrant. By refusing, you could be arrested. If you have received an administrative search warrant, you should contact your dea-audit-and-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA investigation and audit attorney immediately.

An attorney who is experienced in these matters can give helpful guidance that will protect you, your health care practice and your dea registration.

DEA Audits and Inspections

In addition to determining compliance with the CSA, there are several reasons for the dea/defense-lawyers/pharmacy-dea-audits/”>DEA to audit and inspection healthcare practitioners and pharmacies. Some include:

• Investigating a tip from a patient or pharmacy about prescription practices
• Investigating possible deviations from prescribing patterns compared to others
• Random investigations to ensure practitioners are compliant

Scope of the DEA Audits

The dea/defense-lawyers/preparing-for-a-dea-inspection/”>DEA does not have the authority to inspect everything on the premises simply because it has an administrative search warrant. The law limits what can be inspected. There might be attempts to interview you or your employees.

Legal experts strongly advise against answering these questions when there is a criminal or administrative proceeding. To avoid a possible trap when the agency attempts to exceed the scope of the search warrant, you should immediately contact your attorney.

DEA Audit Reports for Noncompliance

If noncompliance is found following a dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA audit, the agency issues an audit report that details the areas deemed to be noncompliant with the CSA. When noncompliance is found, the matter could be referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. An alternative is the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-disciplinary-action/”>DEA will take administrative action against your DEA registration.

You Need the Experience of DEA Audit Lawyers

Raiser & Kenniff, PC is dedicated to helping pharmacies, practitioners, distributors and other dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-suspension-revocation/”>registrants with a DEA registration. We know that keeping this registration in good standing is critical to you delivering care to patients. We can help with all aspects of dea-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA investigations.

Our experience in defending dea-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA registrants during an investigation and in subsequent actions is based on knowing helping many clients throughout this process. Not only are we here to protect your dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-surrenders/”>DEA registration, but to also ensure your career, other professional licenses and reputation remains unharmed. WE handle all aspects of your dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA audits.

Allegations and investigations of noncompliance, as a result of a dea/defense-lawyers/nyc-dea-audits-investigations-lawyers/”>DEA investigation, can have negative consequences. You worked hard to get your license and establish a career caring for others. Let us help you keep it.

Cities in which Professionals We Can Help With License Defense

California, Dallas, New Jersey, NYC, San Antonio, San Bernardino, Austin, Los Angeles

How To Prepare For the DEA Audit w/DEA Lawyers

The dea is authorized by the Controlled Substances Act, in order to inspect physicians. The dea inspectors will come to your office and identify themselves – if this happens, you should contact our dea attorneys immediately. They are required to present their badge. The inspector will ask the physician to sign a notice of inspection before going through with the audit. The notice will have the physician’s Statement of Rights on the notice. It’s recommended at this stage, you review your rights – and call a dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA attorney who can help you navigate the DEA audit.

The inspector is required to ask you to sign a Notice of Inspection before going through with the audit. The inspector can ask you for the following items:

• Proof of existing dea registration
• Patient prescription logs
• Patient dispensing logs
• Safe and secure areas where drugs are stored
• Review of patient logs

You should treat each day like a day when you could be facing a dea/defense-lawyers/nyc-dea-audits-investigations-lawyers/”>DEA investigation requiring a DEA lawyer’s help. Ensure you’re in compliance with the items above every day, and all documents are always available. If the day of your dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA Audit comes, notify your staff that the dea is authorized to audit all the physicians. All dea-audit-and-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA inspectors are trained to conduct audits and dea investigations efficiently, and both your staff and you should expect efficient and amicable behavior from the dea audits. Your staff is allowed to oversee the inspection. You should identify 1-2 people who can oversee the inspection, and are prepared to deal with it. You should allocate a space in your office where the inspectors and your staff can do the audit in private.

DEA Warrants and DEA Notices of Inspection (DEA Form 82)

Unlike criminal cases, the dea doesn’t need a search warrant to conduct a DEA inspection in order to determine if you’re in compliance with CSA. If the dea/defense-lawyers/nyc-dea-audits-investigations-lawyers/”>DEA is participating in a criminal investigation with other agencies, then they must have a search warrant to search the clinic. dea inspections and audits are done by DEA diversion investigators, and are a part of the dea‘s diversion control program. dea audits will begin when a DEA form 82 (Notice of Inspection of Controlled Premises), or a administrative inspection warrant is presented to a physician before the inspection as a part of the dea investigation. When presented with this form, you should call our dea-audit-and-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA lawyers immediately.

Informed Consent for DEA Audits and dea investigations

If form 82 is presented, then the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-drug-diversion-lawyers/”>physician is required to give informed consent before the DEA audit/inspection begins. Informed consent is essentially a written statement by the provider that he/she has been informed of his/her right not to have an administrative inspection – and that anything of an incriminating nature can be used against the physician in a criminal case – and that the physician voluntarily consents to the search.

Depending on the situation, the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-order-to-show-cause-representation/”>DEA may not need informed consent in order to conduct an inspection without an administrative search warrant. An administrative search warrant isn’t needed for healthcare providers who are applying for their initial dea registration, or for inspection of books + records according to a administrative subpoena that is issued due to the dea‘s subpoena power, or for administrative inspections where the dea feels there’s an imminent danger to the public health and safety.

Administrative Search Warrants and DEA Investigations

If you refuse to give informed consent to the dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA for an audit, then the dea will get an administrative search warrant from a federal court. Unlike search warrants, administrative inspection warrants don’t require the dea/defense-lawyers/preparing-for-a-dea-inspection/”>DEA to show probably cause. Instead, to get an administrative search warrant the dea needs to simply describe the nature + extent of the inspection, and any items they are looking to seize. Courts routinely grant administrative search warrants without much issue.

If the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-audits-and-investigations/”>DEA presents an administrative search warrant to conduct an audit for a DEA investigation, or inspection, then you must comply. If you refuse to comply, then this is grounds for arrest. If you receive a dea administrative search warrant, then you should consider calling one of our dea attorneys immediately. We are experienced in handling dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA audits and enforcement actions and can give you immediate help.

There are a few reasons why a dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-suspensions-and-revocations/”>DEA registrant may refuse to give informed consent even though the DEA will get an administrative search warrant. First, the dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA does inspections without warning, and you may want to contact your attorney before the dea audit begins. We recommend healthcare providers who receive an administrative subpoena or dea form 82 to contact us ASAP. We can help ensure the dea doesn’t go over the scope of their warrant/parameters.

Administrative search warrants don’t give the dea the right to inspect every single thing in the practice. The statute limits what the dea is allowed to inspect. The dea/defense-lawyers/nyc-dea-audits-investigations-lawyers/”>DEA can try to interview you, or your staff as a part of the dea investigation. Any information that’s offered to the dea can be used against you – which is why we recommend contacting our attorneys before speaking to the DEA. We can help ensure your rights are protected.

Following the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-drug-diversion-reporting/”>DEA audit, and DEA investigation, if noncompliance is determined – then the dea will issue a DEA audit report which details the issues that they found. If noncompliance with the CSA is found, then the dea-criminal-lawyers/”>DEA will refer the issue to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution – and in addition, may take administrative and civil actions against the practitioner/facility. Our dea-audit-and-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA lawyers can intervene at this stage, in order to help protect you, and your practice.

Can you see the government’s evidence against you when you’re under investigation?

If you’re the subject of a federal investigation or if there are federal charges filed against you, you may desperately want to see the government’s evidence against you. The evidence that the government has against you is what determines whether you’re likely to be found guilty of the offense. You may want to know when and how you get to see the government’s evidence against you. Here’s what to do when you see the government’s evidence against you:

As a general rule, law enforcement officers don’t have to show you the evidence against you when you’re under investigation. They may talk to witnesses or examine evidence that is not in your possession without telling you about it. Generally, you don’t have a way to demand this information. Law enforcement may investigate and keep the information confidential until they make a decision about charges.

You do not have to voluntarily give the police evidence. You have the right to avoid self-incrimination. If they ask to search your home or property, you can say no unless they have a search warrant. When investigators ask to interview you, you should say no.

The one exception may be if the police execute a search warrant. The police should give you a list of items seized. You can see the seized evidence that the government has against you, but you may not necessarily know what the government is doing with the items that they seize. As a rule, before you face charges, you do not get to know what evidence the government has against you.

Seeing the government’s evidence against you after you’re charged with a crime

If the government charges you with a crime, you have a right to know what evidence the government has against you. You have a right to receive a copy of the charging documents. You can ask for copies of law enforcement reports, videos that may exist in the case and names of witnesses. In addition to giving you the evidence that you demand, law enforcement must also give you any evidence that tends to negate your guilt. The U.S. Supreme Court says that a prosecutor must give the defendant any evidence in their possession that calls the guilt of the defendant into question. The rule that requires a prosecutor to disclose exculpatory information is called the Brady rule.

When you see the government’s evidence against you

When you see the government’s evidence against you, there are important steps to take. First, you should compare the government’s evidence to the elements of the charges against you. You should assess the strength of the government’s case. The evidence that the government has against you may help you decide whether you want to take your case to trial or pursue a non-trial resolution. In addition, knowing what the government has against you can help you determine how to conduct your own investigation. You can determine what witnesses law enforcement may have purposefully ignored. You may be able to gather valuable evidence that you can bring to the government attorney or to the jury in order to fight your case.

Challenging the evidence against you

In addition, when you see the government’s evidence against you, you may take steps in order to suppress the evidence from the jury. Evidence that is gathered improperly may not be admissible at trial. When you know the evidence the state has, you can begin to go about the important work of challenging the evidence and shaping the issues for trial. It’s important to carefully review the government’s evidence against you so that you can take measures to keep inadmissible evidence from the jury and build on the existing evidence in order to prepare for trial.

There are Federal Rules of Evidence and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure that apply to all federal charges. You have the right to insist that the government’s attorney follow the rules when they pursue the charges. The rules exist to ensure that defendants get a fair trial. It’s important to review the evidence in light of the rules that apply. When you see the government evidence against you, you can take steps to respond appropriately and fight the charges.

Our attorneys routinely handle DEA audits. These types of audits are common, and can lead to criminal prosecution or administrative action against your DEA registration – if there are violations of the CSA found. We advise DEA registrants – who are subject to an investigation or audit, to contact our New York DEA Audit lawyers immediately. We advise you of your rights, and how to proceed forward. We can represent you during a dea-audit-lawyer/”>DEA audit, and help you avoid future litigation.

DEA Audits

The DEA frequently conducts investigations. It frequently does audits, in order to determine if you’re in compliance with the CSA. These audits and inspections are done typically to investigate pharmacy drug diversion practices, deviations in prescribing patterns compared to other prescribers. In some cases they are random to insurance compliance. Practitioners are typically inspected once every 3 years. It may be more frequent if they prescribe buprenoprhine or they have a Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 waiver. Narcotic treatment programs, distributors, or other non-practitioner dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-suspensions-and-revocations/”>DEA registrants typically can expect a DEA inspection once every 5 years or so.

DEA Warrants and Notices of Inspection

The dea doesn’t require a search warrant in order to conduct a DEA inspection in order to ensure compliance with the CSA. If the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-search-warrants/”>DEA is participating in a criminal investigation with other agencies – they must have a search warrant to search your clinic. dea inspections are conducted by DEA diversion investigators in field offices across the US. dea audits begin when a DEA Form 82 or an administrative inspection warrant is presented to a registrant before the inspection happens.

Informed Consent For DEA Audits

If dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-surrenders/”>DEA Form 82 is presented, then the dea registrant is required to give informed consent before the audit or inspection can proceed. Informed consent is a statement by the registrant saying he/she was informed of their constitutional rights not to have an administrative inspection, and that anything of incriminating nature can be used against the registrant in the event there is a criminal proceeding. Moreover, you voluntarily consent to the search.  In some cases, the dea doesn’t need informed consent to conduct the inspection. An administrative warrant isn’t required for establishments that are applying for initial dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-surrenders/”>DEA registration, or for inspection of books pursuant to an administrative subpoena which is issued by the dea‘s subpoena power. Also, if the administrative inspection is due to imminent danger to the public health, then no informed consent is needed.

Administrative Search Warrants

If the registrant refuses to give informed consent to the audit, the dea has to get a administrative inspection warrant. Unlike a search warrant, an administrative inspection warrant doesn’t require the dea/defense-lawyers/preparing-for-a-dea-inspection/”>DEA to demonstrate probable cause. In order to obtain an administrative search warrant, the dea is required to describe the nature/extent of the inspection. In addition, the dea has to say what items they are going to be seizing. Courts often routinely grant administrative search warrants. If the dea presents an administrative warrant when conducting a DEA audit/inspection, then you have to comply. It’s helpful if you have an attorney at this junction. Refusal to comply can be grounds for arrest. If you receive such a warrant, you should contact us immediately. We have experience handling investigations and enforcement actions and can give you advice immediately.

Reasons to refuse informed consent

There are many reasons why you may refuse to give informed consent – even though you know the dea will obtain an administrative search warrant. First, the dea conducts inspections with no prior warning. That means you have no prior warning to hire an attorney before the search/audit begins. We recommend registrants who get an administrative subpoena contact our attorneys immediately. We can help determine if you should give informed consent for a dea inspection. If the dea-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA presents and administrative search warrant and the investigation is already on going we can help ensure the DEA doesn’t go over the scope of the warrant. In addition, we can identify potential areas of the concern the dea isn’t aware of yet – and help prevent future problems.

Scope of Investigations

Administrative search warrants don’t give the dea authority to inspect everything. The statute limits what can be inspected. The dea may interview you, or your staff. Any information offered can be used against you in either administrative or criminal proceedings. We advise you hire our attorneys before speaking with the dea. We can help ensure your rights are protected and that the dea doesn’t exceed the scope of the warrant.

DEA Audit Reports

After a dea-audit-and-investigation-lawyers/”>DEA audit, if noncompliance is determine – the dea will issue an audit report detailing the issues it found to be noncompliant with the CSA. If noncompliance is found, then the dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-disciplinary-action/”>DEA will refer the matter to the DOJ and take administrative actions against the practitioner or the facilities DEA registration.

We can help

Regardless of what stage you’re at, we can help. We have ongoing relationships with providers and businesses all over the USA who we help in dea/defense-lawyers/dea-audits-and-dea-investigations-dea-lawyers/”>DEA investigations. Our goal is to protect your dea/defense-lawyers/dea-registration-surrenders/”>DEA registration, professional licenses, careers, and reputations from dea investigations.