TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Two Tampa residents were indicted Thursday for allegedly giving people drugs like Adderall and hydrocodone under the guise of an alternative medicine clinic.
Bridget Luzod, 42, began operating Thrive Medical Clinic out of South Tampa in September 2018, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
While Luzod reportedly portrayed herself as a doctor or nurse to her patients, officials said she only had a Florida basic x-ray machine operator license, and that her license had expired earlier that year.
“She was not licensed to practice medicine in Florida and did not have a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number to prescribe controlled substances,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Authorities said Luzod hired 79-year-old Victor Silva, M.D. to serve as Thrive’s medical director in March 2020. However, Silva did not examine or diagnose any of the patients who visited the clinic, officials said.
Instead, from 2020 to 2024, Luzod reportedly paid Silva to use his credentials and DEA registration number to prescribe her friends and family controlled substances, including Adderall, testosterone, hydrocodone, and phentermine.
Investigators said Luzod regularly forged Silva’s signature or used a rubber stamp to affix it to prescriptions.
Luzod and Silva each face 40 charges related to their alleged scheme. A grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging them with the following offenses:
- One count of conspiring to distribute controlled substances
- One count of maintaining a drug-involved premises
- 19 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances
- 19 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances using a registration number issued to another person
If convicted on all counts, Luzod and Silva each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Luzod and Silva that the United States intends to forfeit any money or asset traceable to proceeds of the offenses.
