The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has filed a suit against Gulf Breeze, Fla.-based OB-GYN Elaine Sharp, MD, alleging she was overprescribing controlled substances to her patients, the Pensacola News Journal reported July 19.
The department also alleges she obtained $20,000, which the suit aims to keep, through money laundering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and unlawfully prescribing controlled substances. Additionally, according to the report, 12 people have died after filling prescriptions from Sharp.
Dr. Sharp "developed a reputation for prescribing pain medications in significantly higher doses than other pain management physicians," according to the report, and since 2019, many pharmacies refuse to fill her prescriptions.
State documents say Dr. Sharp issued more than 3,000 prescriptions for controlled substances between August 2021 and August 2022.
The department plans to formally charge Dr. Sharp with six felony crimes before the end of the year, according to the report.