Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: U.S. Attorney Appoints Opioid Coordinators
Executive Assistant U. S. Attorney Linda Frakes (619) 546-6793 and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dylan Aste (619) 546-7621
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – February 8, 2018
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman has appointed two Opioid Coordinators – one to handle criminal matters and the other civil – to manage the office’s strategy for combatting the deadly opioid epidemic in the Southern District of California.
The criminal coordinator, Linda Frakes, will focus on stopping the illegal importation of heroin, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues as well as targeting dark web vendors who distribute illicit opioids. The civil coordinator, Dylan Aste, will focus on the unlawful prescribing and illegal diversion of these highly addictive drugs.
“This multifaceted approach to enforcing our drug laws will save lives by keeping drugs off our streets and help prevent Americans from becoming addicted to prescription drugs,” Braverman said. “The ongoing opioid epidemic in our district is destroying lives and communities and I’m committed to combatting this crisis with every available asset.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a directive to all U.S. Attorneys to designate an Opioid Coordinator to work closely with prosecutors, and with other federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement to coordinate and optimize federal opioid prosecutions in every district.
Braverman took the unique approach of adding an opioid coordinator for civil as well as criminal matters.
As a part of the U.S. Attorney’s strategy to combat the opioid epidemic, the newly designated Opioid Coordinators will make prosecution of all prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl a top priority, including civil cases involving illegal diversion and unlawful prescribing of these drugs.
Frakes, a 27-year veteran who also serves as the third-highest-ranking prosecutor in the office, was previously supervisor of the Criminal Enterprises section. Her job involved overseeing prosecutions of transnational criminal organizations, including major Mexican drug cartels.
“Our strategy is to hit the opioid crisis hard with every tool we have – from prevention, education and treatment to enforcement,” Frakes said. “We will investigate and prosecute criminals who import fentanyl, distribute fentanyl, or cause death resulting from fentanyl distribution. If you possess chemicals intending to illegally manufacture fentanyl, you will be prosecuted. Our law enforcement partners are fighting alongside our prosecutors to investigate criminal organizations, here and abroad, who traffic in fentanyl. We will use our federal resources to bring you to justice.”
Aste, a civil litigator in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, specializes in investigating and prosecuting allegations of fraud against the United States. He has recovered over $11 million on behalf of the United States.
“Opioid addiction often begins with overprescribing by health care providers and illegal dispensing by pharmacies, and this needs to stop,” Aste said. “I will use the full force of the law to prosecute the prescribers and pharmacies that are contributing to the opioid epidemic.”
Aste has managed several complex opioid-related investigations. He recently settled two cases involving pharmacies. Medical Center Pharmacy paid $750,000 to resolve allegations under the Controlled Substances Act that included diversion of a significant amount of oxycodone and hydrocodone, failure to control the pharmacies’ inventory of controlled substances, and failure to maintain required records of the pharmacies’ distribution of controlled substances. Sixth Avenue Pharmacy in downtown San Diego paid $147,500 to resolve similar allegations.
Opioids are drugs that include illegally obtained heroin and fentanyl and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as fentanyl, oxycodone (OxyContin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, morphine, etc. Opioid pain relievers are generally safe when taken for a short time as prescribed by a doctor, but because they produce euphoria, they can be misused. Regular use—even as prescribed by a doctor—can lead to dependence and, when misused, opioid pain relievers can lead to addiction, overdose incidents and deaths.
Opioids have become a significant and growing problem in this district and throughout the nation. In FY 2017, fentanyl seizures at the California ports of entry increased 266 percent in just one year – from 260 kilograms in FY 2016 to 952.
In April 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its law enforcement partners created a local Fentanyl Working Group. This multi-dimensional group includes local, state and federal investigative agencies, toxicologists, the Medical Examiner’s Office, DEA Lab chemists and first responders, plus local, county and federal prosecutors.
The Fentanyl Working Group has held two educational Fentanyl Forums, one in June of 2017 and one in November 2017. More than 200 local and federal law enforcement officers attended each meeting where they learned about the dangers of encountering fentanyl in the field; the local smuggling trends from Mexico and China to the U.S.; parcel interdiction cases, prosecution of overdose cases in state and federal courts; and prosecution collaboration with our office and that of the District Attorney.
###