Federal crackdown exposes “ghost pharmacies” fueling opioid black market

Federal authorities have dismantled a massive Houston-based criminal network operating so-called “ghost pharmacies.” These fake storefronts billed Medicaid and Medicare for more than 70 million doses of opioids and other controlled substances that were then funneled into the black market. Investigators say the operation disproportionately impacted Black and Latino neighborhoods already struggling with addiction crises. The bust is part of the largest healthcare fraud investigation in U.S. history, and prosecutors are seeking decades-long prison sentences for those involved.