Federal drug enforcement agents allege that a longtime Dallas doctor received cash payments in exchange for prescribing highly-abused medications for patients without examining them.
The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in June raided clinics operated by Habiboola Niamatali as well as his home. The newspaper cited court records as well as the doctor himself, who says the agents took charts, prescription pads and cars and seized four bank accounts.
A search warrant affidavit says that, out of 6,000 Dallas-area practitioners licensed to write prescriptions for controlled substances in 2010, Niamatali ranked second in the number of hydrocodone prescriptions.
The 70-year-old doctor told the newspaper he's done nothing wrong.
The DEA declined to discuss the case because it's an active investigation.
