Carthage counselor indicted for distributing prescription drugs

A licensed professional counselor working at a Carthage clinic was indicted Wednesday for money laundering and her role in conspiracies to illegally distribute more than $1.5 million in prescription drugs.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri announced that Tammy L. Neil was charged with 24 counts, including conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and money laundering. Neil co-owned Complete Quick Care Clinic LLC with a now-deceased, unnamed doctor of osteopathic medicine.

According to a news release from the attorney's office, Neil was responsible for the weight loss department and counseling at the clinic and was not licensed to dispense controlled substances. The doctor, referred to in the indictment as Dr. A, was known in the Carthage area as a physician who "liberally prescribed drugs on request." According to the indictment, the clinic purchased large amounts of controlled substances; the clinic was, for example, the highest-volume purchaser of hydrocodone in the state in 2006.

The indictment alleges that Neil and the physician dispensed large amounts of drugs outside the usual medical avenues and for no legitimate medical purpose. Neil is charged with participating in a conspiracy to illegally distribute phentermine, which patients referred to as "synthetic meth," from 2005 through 2008.

The indictment also charges Neil with seven counts of helping others distribute phentermine, along with money laundering by helping others conduct financial transactions involving proceeds from the illegal drug distribution.

The indictment includes two allegations that would require Neil to forfeit any property derived from the alleged offenses, including nearly $1.6 million, residential properties in Missouri and Florida, a private airplane, a 2007 Jaguar, a 2001 Porsche and a 2008 Cadillac Escalade.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Carthage Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.[[In-content Ad]]