The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Florida Department of Health today announced the arrest of four individuals employed with two Tallahassee weight loss clinics.

Dr. Stephen Duncan, 46, owner of Resolutions Weight Loss and the Men’s Center of Tallahassee, and Dr. Mark Hash, 48, supervising physician at First Impression Weight Loss, were charged with writing prescriptions for controlled substances with no medical necessity, a third-degree felony. Jane Watts, 61, owner of First Impression Weight Loss, and her employee Shakisha Curry, 35, were charged with practicing a health care profession without a license, a third-degree felony.

The investigation began in June 2008 when FDLE received information alleging Dr. Duncan was prescribing Phendimetrazine, a Schedule III controlled stimulant used to manage weight loss, to patients he had not medically examined. The investigation further revealed that Dr. Duncan prescribed Phendimetrazine from his Tallahassee office to patients visiting his clinics in Georgia and North Carolina, as well as to patients visiting his clinics in Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Chattahoochee, and Panama City, Fla. Dr. Duncan was charged with nine counts of writing prescriptions for controlled substances with no medical necessity.

FDLE began investigating Dr. Hash following allegations that he was prescribing Phendimetrazine to patients he had not initially examined. The investigation revealed that initial examinations of new patients were being performed by non-licensed individuals who also provided them with Phendimetrazine with little to no supervision by the physician. Dr. Hash was charged with two counts of writing prescriptions for controlled substances with no medical necessity.

Jane Watts was presenting herself as a Nutritional Counselor and Shakisha Curry was presenting herself as a Licensed Practical Nurse as part of First Impression’s medical staff. Neither was licensed by the State of Florida to perform any medical service. They were each charged with practicing a health care profession without a license.

This case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, 2nd Judicial Circuit. All four subjects were booked into the Leon County Jail.