DEA Fines Against Vet Practices: 6 Real Cases (2026)

When people picture a DEA case against a veterinarian, they imagine drug dealing. The reality is far more ordinary — and that is exactly why it should worry every practice owner. We reviewed publicly reported DEA and Department of Justice enforcement actions against U.S. veterinary practices from 2016 through 2025. The penalties ran from $15,000 to $226,000, and in nearly every case the practice was cited for the same unglamorous failures: incomplete records, missing inventories, and weak control over controlled substances — not for trafficking.

The lesson across all of them is uncomfortable: you do not have to be a bad actor to face a six-figure federal penalty. Sloppy paperwork, by itself, is enough.

Six real veterinary DEA enforcement actions

Every case below is a matter of public record, drawn from official DOJ or DEA announcements. Settlements are civil unless noted, and most resolved without any admission of liability — the practice paid to make the case go away.

Practice (owner)	Location	Year	Penalty	Primarily cited for
Louisville Family Animal Hospital (Dr. Greg Collins)	Louisville, CO	2019	$226,000 + surrendered DEA registration	Failure to inventory, track, and control thousands of units of opioids over years
Town & Country Veterinary Clinic (Michael Paul Good)	Marietta, GA	2016	$90,000	Failure to keep accurate records or report thefts/losses
Andes-Straley Veterinary Hospital (Gary C. Andes)	Kingsport, TN	2019	$70,000	Recordkeeping and inventory failures; inadequate controls; significant shortages
Tilton Veterinary Hospital (Dr. Sara Laroux)	Tilton, NH	2025	$53,500	Inaccurate records, no proper inventories, altered pages and forged signatures, drugs left unsecured
Avenues Pet Hospital (Dr. Rodney Hartshorn)	Cheyenne, WY	2024	$30,000	Systemic recordkeeping violations; failure to safeguard controlled substances
Animed Pet Hospital (Wilbur M. Salter II, DVM)	Dedham, MA	2022	$15,000	Inadequate recordkeeping of controlled substances

The pattern: it’s the records, not the crime

Read the six together and one thing jumps out. With one exception, none of these veterinarians was accused of dealing drugs. They were penalized for failing to account for controlled substances — the precise obligations covered by 21 CFR Part 1304 (records and inventories) and Part 1301 (security). The recurring citations:

Incomplete or inaccurate records — the single most common finding, present in every case.
Missing or improper inventories — no initial inventory, no biennial count, or counts that didn’t reconcile.
Failure to safeguard / inadequate controls — drugs accessible, unmonitored, or unsecured.
Unreported or unexplained shortages — losses that were never reported on a DEA Form 106.

A second pattern matters just as much: how the DEA got there. These cases typically start with a triggering event — a reported loss, a tip, a staff diversion, or a routine audit — after which the investigator opens the records. At that point, the records are the case. A practice with clean, reconciled logs survives the same trigger that sinks a practice with gaps.

The three cases worth studying

Louisville Family Animal Hospital — $226,000 and the registration gone. The most expensive case in the set. Over a period of years, the practice allegedly failed to properly inventory, track, and control thousands of units of opioids — fentanyl, hydromorphone, and morphine. DEA investigators found it during an on-site audit. Dr. Collins paid $226,000 and surrendered his DEA registration — for a veterinary practice, the loss of the registration is often the bigger blow than the fine, because it ends the ability to stock the drugs anesthesia and euthanasia require.

Tilton Veterinary Hospital — when the cover-up is the case. This one is instructive because it shows how a recordkeeping problem becomes much worse. After a DEA investigation into incorrect records and missing drugs, the allegations included not just inaccurate records and absent inventories but altered record pages and forged signatures, plus controlled substances left unmonitored and unsecured while the owner was away. Bad records invite an inspection; doctored records escalate it.

Town & Country Veterinary Clinic — $90,000 for paperwork. No allegation of dealing, no allegation of personal abuse — the clinic owner simply “failed to keep accurate records or report thefts or losses as required by federal law,” and it cost $90,000. This is the cleanest illustration of the core lesson: the recordkeeping failure is the violation.

It isn’t only practices — the supply chain is on notice too

For context on how seriously the DEA treats the veterinary controlled-substance chain: in 2024, the animal-health distributor Covetrus agreed to pay $1,125,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to adequately address suspicious opioid orders and kept inadequate records. That is a distributor, not a clinic — but it signals that enforcement attention runs the full length of the veterinary drug supply, from the company that ships the opioids to the practice that stocks them.

What this means for your practice

Every citation above maps to a control you can put in place this week:

Reconciled logs, kept current. A running balance that always matches the physical count is what an audit cannot break. See the veterinary controlled substance log guide.
A real inventory trail. An initial inventory plus a biennial inventory, signed, dated, and retained.
Locked storage and controlled access — the storage standard is modest, but it must actually be followed.
Report losses properly and on time. An unexplained shortage you report is a problem managed; one you hide is the Tilton case.
Never alter a record after the fact. Correct with a dated notation, never by editing or replacing a page.

How big can the penalty get?

The penalties above are negotiated settlements, but the underlying exposure is structural: under the Controlled Substances Act, each recordkeeping violation can carry a civil penalty that is adjusted annually for inflation — in recent years exceeding $14,000 per violation. Because violations are counted per record, they accumulate fast — which is how a practice with no intent to do anything wrong ends up looking at a five- or six-figure number. And because a veterinary DEA registration is held personally, the registrant — not an abstract “practice” — is the one who pays.

Find your gaps before an investigator does

The veterinarians above did not get penalized for what they sold. They got penalized for what they could not account for. The single most effective way to avoid joining the list is to run the same review a DEA investigator would — before one arrives.

Free download: Our DEA Self-Audit Checklist turns a full DEA inspection into a self-scoring worksheet — the 39 items an investigator checks, with a readiness score. Get the free Self-Audit Checklist →

Frequently asked questions

How much can the DEA fine a veterinary practice? Real settlements with veterinary practices have ranged from about $15,000 to $226,000. The underlying civil penalty for recordkeeping violations is set per violation and adjusted annually for inflation — in recent years exceeding $14,000 each — and because violations are counted per record, they add up quickly.

Do veterinarians actually get penalized for recordkeeping alone? Yes. In most publicly reported cases, the veterinarian was cited for failing to keep accurate records, conduct inventories, or safeguard controlled substances — not for drug dealing. Poor recordkeeping by itself has led to penalties of $90,000 and more.

Who pays the penalty — the practice or the veterinarian? A DEA registration is held personally by the registrant, so the individual veterinarian or owner is on the hook, not an abstract corporate entity. In serious cases the registrant also surrenders the DEA registration.

What usually triggers a DEA investigation of a vet practice? A reported theft or loss, a complaint or tip, unusual ordering, a staff diversion, or a routine audit. Once an investigator opens the records, the quality of those records largely determines the outcome. See what triggers a DEA inspection.

Can altering a record make things worse? Significantly. In at least one case, altering record pages and forging signatures turned a recordkeeping problem into a far more serious matter. Always correct records with a dated notation — never by editing or replacing a page.

Sources

These are public enforcement actions. Primary announcements (U.S. Department of Justice and DEA):

Veterinarian Pays $226,000 And Surrenders License… — U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado.
Veterinary Clinic Owner Pays Civil Penalty… ($90,000) — U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia.
Kingsport veterinary hospital to pay $70,000… — U.S. Department of Justice / reported by WJHL.
Tilton Veterinarian Agrees to Pay $53,500… — U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire.
Local veterinarian agrees to pay civil penalty… ($30,000) — U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Wyoming.
Dedham Veterinarian Agrees To Pay $15,000… — U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Covetrus Agrees To Pay $1,125,000… — U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Vet Compliance HQ provides educational compliance resources for veterinary practices. This article summarizes publicly reported enforcement actions and is not legal advice. Penalty figures are as reported at the time of each settlement; civil penalty maximums are adjusted periodically. Verify current requirements with the DEA and your state veterinary board.