SHERMAN, Texas – A 56-year-old Sherman, Texas doctor has been arrested on
federal drug conspiracy charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced
Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
Howard Gregg Diamond was indicted
on July 6, 2017 and charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled
substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, health
care fraud and aiding and abetting and money laundering and aiding and
abetting. Diamond was arrested on July 11, 2017 in Sherman and appeared before
U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine Nowak later that day.
According to the indictment,
beginning in 2010, Diamond is alleged to have conspired with others to write
prescriptions for substances such as hydrocodone, oxymorphine, methadone,
fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone, alprazolam, and zolpidem, without a legitimate
medical purpose. The conspiracy is alleged to have resulted in the
overdose deaths of at least seven individuals from 2012 to 2016. Those deaths
occurred in Sulphur Springs, Texas; Ardmore, OK; McKinney, Texas; Idabel, OK;
Yukon, OK; Abilene, Texas; and Hugo, OK.
If convicted, Diamond faces up to
life in federal prison. Diamond is scheduled for a detention hearing
before Judge Nowak on Friday, July 14, 2017.
This case is being prosecuted under
the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) as a joint
investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to
identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking
organizations, weapons trafficking offenders, money laundering organizations,
and those individuals responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
This case is being investigated by
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Department of Health and Human Services, Internal Revenue Service and the Texas
Office of the Attorney General. This case is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Rattan.
An
indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent
until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Davilyn Walston
Public Information Officer/Law Enforcement Coordinator
U.S. Attorney's Office
Eastern District of Texas
