Tampa, FL – On the first of August, U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber sentenced Dr. Janet Pettyjohn and her granddaughter, Shelly Gallagher, to three and six years in federal prison, respectively for conspiracy to distribute drugs. The court also ordered the forfeiture of a total of $34,132, the “proceeds of the charged criminal conduct,” as part of the 78-year-old doctor’s sentence on Thursday.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Florida, Pettyjohn and Gallagher (34, Brooksville) entered guilty pleas in May of 2024.
As the Sun reported in November of last year, Pettyjohn and Gallagher were charged with 21 and 9 counts of unlawful drug distribution, and both were facing up to 20-year maximum penalties each before Thursday’s sentencing. Pettyjohn, who graduated from A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1974, was an osteopathic physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of Florida with a registration number to prescribe controlled substances from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The doctor’s ability to prescribe opioids had been restricted by Florida’s Board of Osteopathic Medicine (BOM) in July of 2020 after complaints had been made regarding the manner in which Pettyjohn had prescribed the controlled substances. Despite this, the 78-year-old physician continued to prescribe opioids after BOM’s Final Order and restriction of prescription privileges took effect. Her granddaughter did not hold a medical license during these acts as well.
“Between March 2021 and February 2023, Gallagher sponsored patients at Pettyjohn’s clinic and ordered controlled substances for herself and others from Pettyjohn.” stated The US Attorney’s Office Middle District of Florida. “Despite obvious signs of drug abuse and diversion, Pettyjohn knowingly and intentionally prescribed the controlled substances for Gallagher and others for no legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice, which Gallagher and others abused and diverted.”
The BOM would lift Pettyjohn’s restriction shortly thereafter in March of 2021, but the former physician had already accrued the previously stated amount of $34,132 during this period. When authorities searched the doctor’s residence in February of 2024, the illegal funds, which were in U.S. currency, were found in a safe. As a result, Pettyjohn relinquished her medical license and DEA registration in May of 2024. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo.
A collection of teams and agencies collaborated in the investigation of Pettyjohn and Gallagher. These included the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, the Tampa District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office.
According to the release, the last of these “focuses on opioid-related fraud and abuse by medical and health care professionals who have contributed to the prescription opioid epidemic.”
U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg and the Middle District of Florida office serve 35 of the state’s 67 counties, which include over 11.5 million Floridians. The attorney’s office’s website also notes that its district is the second most populous in the nation. Further information can be found at www.justice.gov.
