United States of America v. James C. Sells, III

Nashville, Tennessee civil litigation lawyer represented Defendant accused to fraudulently appling for and received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and violated the Controlled Substances Act.



Sells had ownership in several office-based opioid treatment programs in middle Tennessee, including Nashville Recovery LLC, which he sold in September 2022, Everwell Medical LLC, in Murfreesboro, Forever Well, LLC, in Dickson, and Journey Medical, in Gallatin. The programs, acting through Sells, applied for, and obtained multiple loans from the PPP in the total amount of $143,109, all of which were forgiven.



In addition, in the Settlement Agreement, the United States also alleges that from January 1, 2020, through September 8, 2020, one of the providers who sees patients at two of the programs failed to secure his password to the electronic prescribing system and allowed his office manager to electronically sign prescriptions, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.



Of the $500,000 settlement, $143,109 is restitution relating to the PPP loans; $143,109 is damages relating to the PPP loan; and the remaining $213,782 is civil penalties for violations of the Controlled Substances Act.



The civil claims settled by this Settlement Agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.



This matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration - Diversion Group and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kara F. Sweet of the Middle District of Tennessee.

Settled for $500,000.00.