Spokane, WA. — Dr. Duncan Lahtinen, a licensed physician, has paid $120,000 in civil penalties to resolve federal allegations that he wrote prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked legitimate medical purposes or fell outside the usual course of professional practice.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, between 2017 and 2025 Lahtinen issued more than 1,400 prescriptions for controlled substances to thirteen identified patients. Many of the prescriptions involved combinations of opioids, benzodiazepines, sedatives, and carisoprodol—drug combinations considered dangerous and frequently abused by individuals with substance use disorders.
Federal authorities alleged that Lahtinen failed to address multiple red flags of substance abuse among his patients. The United States contended that this conduct made him liable for civil penalties and damages under the Controlled Substances Act and the False Claims Act. Lahtinen had previously been sanctioned twice by the Washington Department of Health for improper controlled substance prescribing practices.
“DEA holds physicians who prescribe controlled substances to a very high standard so they do not become drug dealers with a medical license,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Seattle Field Division. “Dr. Lahtinen failed to uphold this standard and DEA and our partners held him accountable.”
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Serrano said physicians are entrusted to prescribe controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes. “When a doctor abuses that power, they trade all the principles of patient care and become drug dealers in white coats,” Serrano said, adding that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to investigate and hold accountable physicians who engage in such conduct.
Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey McIntosh of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said improper prescribing undermines public health efforts to address the opioid crisis. “HHS-OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to relentlessly investigate such allegations to protect patients, the public, and American taxpayers from this dangerous conduct,” McIntosh said.
The settlement resolves civil allegations and does not constitute an admission of liability. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Seattle Field Office.
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