An oral surgeon paid $120,000 over recordkeeping. No diversion was alleged.

What happened

In December 2024, Dr. Donald J. Dinello, an oral surgeon with offices in Harrisburg and Hershey, Pennsylvania, agreed to pay $120,000 in civil penalties. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the settlement.

The allegations covered January 2023 through August 2024. According to the government, he:

• did not use a DEA Form 222 for each Schedule II distribution,
• did not keep complete and accurate records of controlled substances dispensed at both of his registered locations,
• did not keep a biennial inventory at either location, and
• in one instance, issued a Schedule IV prescription outside the usual course of practice.

Three of the four are paperwork. The government’s release does not allege diversion, loss, or patient harm. The settlement is not an admission of liability. Read the full press release yourself. It is short.

The math behind the fine

Federal law makes it a violation to “refuse or negligently fail to make, keep, or furnish any record” the DEA requires (21 U.S.C. 842(a)(5)). Each missing or incomplete record can count as its own violation.

The statutory cap is $10,000 per violation. The law calls for a yearly inflation adjustment. For penalties assessed after July 3, 2025, that cap is $19,246 per violation (28 CFR 85.5).

So a skipped biennial inventory at two locations is two violations. A year of Schedule II orders without proper Form 222s can be dozens. The total climbs fast, and nobody has to allege a single missing dose.

This keeps happening

• May 2026. An Edmond, Oklahoma spinal surgeon paid $110,000. The government said he moved Schedule II drugs between his two clinics without Form 222s. It also said his transfer records were not accurate, he skipped the biennial inventory, and he never registered the second clinic. No diversion was alleged. (DOJ release)
• August 2025. A West Virginia veterinarian was ordered to pay $956,709, the maximum. At inspection she could not produce dispensing records, Form 222s, or inventory records. Investigators also found drugs left unsecured, and 9,796 doses could not be accounted for. That case went well beyond paperwork. It shows what the maximum looks like. (DEA release)
• July 2023. A Tulsa dentist agreed to pay $150,000. The government listed incomplete records, missing forms, and no proper inventory. It also alleged weak controls against diversion, unsafe practice conditions, and unsafe drug doses given to children. That one was not a paperwork case. (DOJ release)

Why sedation practices are exposed

Do you give Versed, ketamine, or fentanyl from your own stock and charge for sedation? Then DEA rules require a record for every administration. See 21 CFR 1304.03(d) and 1304.22(c). Each entry needs the patient’s name and address, the date, the amount, and the name or initials of the person who gave it. What is left in the vial or syringe goes in the same record.

Paper makes that hard at 5 p.m. after four sedations. A tired team skips steps, and each skipped entry is one more missing record.

Nothing in those rules says the record must be on paper. We wrote up what the rule actually says.

A 10-point self-check

Grab your binder and answer honestly.

1. Is your biennial inventory less than two years old, in written or printed form, at each registered location?
2. Does every administration record show the patient’s name and address, the date, the amount, and who gave it?
3. Is every wasted dose recorded, with the amount?
4. Are your Schedule II records kept separate from everything else?
5. Do you have a DEA Form 222 (or a CSOS record) for every Schedule II order, kept for two years?
6. Are records kept at each registered location, not in one binder for all of your offices?
7. Could you hand an inspector two full years of records today, without digging?
8. Are transfers between your offices recorded on both ends, with a DEA Form 222 for any Schedule II drug?
9. Does your running count match what is in the safe right now?
10. Is every location where you store and administer registered with DEA?

If you answered no to any of these, fix it this week. The fix is usually a habit, not a fine.

If the habit is the hard part, that is what TutelaRx is for. The app fills in the patient, does the math, locks each approved entry, and prints any date range as the daily inventory sheet inspectors expect.

Our free printable log kit has its own 10-point self-check, plus the log sheets to match. Download the log kit. If you would rather have the app do this for you, book a 15-minute demo.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania. Dr. Donald J. Dinello, D.M.D. Agrees to Pay $120,000 in Civil Penalties. December 20, 2024.
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Oklahoma. Edmond Doctor Pays $110,000 to Settle Civil Penalty Claims. May 11, 2026.
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Putnam County Veterinarian Ordered to Pay $956,709 in Civil Penalties. August 7, 2025.
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Oklahoma. Dentist Agrees to Pay $150,000 in Penalties. July 7, 2023.
• 21 U.S.C. 842, prohibited acts and civil penalties.
• 28 CFR 85.5, inflation-adjusted civil penalty amounts.
• 21 CFR 1304.04, maintenance of records and inventories.
• 21 CFR 1304.11, inventory requirements.
• 21 CFR 1304.22, records for dispensers.
• 21 CFR 1305.17, preservation of DEA Forms 222.
• 21 CFR 1305.27, preservation of electronic (CSOS) orders.
• 21 CFR 1304.21, continuing records: complete, accurate, current, and kept separately for each registered location.
• 21 CFR 1301.12, a separate registration for each place of practice where controlled substances are dispensed or administered.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Allegations in a settlement are not findings of liability. Check with your state dental board and your DEA field office about your own obligations.