In June 2013, a federal grand jury returned a 27-count indictment against Terrill Eugene Brown, 61, of Visalia, charging him with conspiracy to dispense oxycodone, dispensing of oxycodone and hydrocodone, and structuring currency transactions to avoid bank reporting requirements, According to the indictment, Brown, a medical doctor formerly licensed in California, sold prescriptions for large quantities of highly addictive, frequently diverted prescription drugs, including oxycodone and hydrocodone, without medical necessity. Brown sold prescriptions to customers that did not have a legitimate medical purpose and were not in the usual course of his professional practice. Brown deposited the cash earned from this into different personal bank accounts in a manner designed to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements.

Brown pleaded guilty on July 7, 2014. He will remain out of custody until his sentencing date. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on September 22, 2014. Brown faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine for illegally causing the dispensing of a controlled substance, and a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $500,000 fine for structuring currency transactions to avoid a reporting requirement. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. Brown agreed to forfeit more than $182,000 and three BMW sedans that were involved in or obtained as a result of his criminal activity.

This case is being brought as part of Operation Footprint, a nationwide law enforcement initiative led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the IRS-Criminal Investigation, the DEA, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Operation Footprint targets large drug trafficking organizations by identifying the transfer of drug proceeds through financial institutions, bulk cash smuggling and other forms of money transfers. Operation Footprint is focused on bringing criminal charges based on Bank Secrecy Act violations in addition to violations of the Controlled Substances Act and the Money Laundering Control Act.

This case is also the product of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a focused multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the United States by leveraging the combined expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Prior to the 2013 indictment, Brown was the subject of Board of Medicine investigations that ultimately led to the surrender of his medical license. On September 22, 2011, the Medical Board of California conducted an undercover operation at his office located at 5756 N. Marks Ave. #161 in Fresno California. The undercover operative was a female Medical Board Investigator, who utilized an undercover identity of a patient. During this undercover operation, Brown personally collected $200 cash and issued a medical marijuana recommendation, together with a prescription for 180 10-325 Norco tablets. Brown did not review any medical records and did not conduct any physical examination whatsoever.