Wawautosa nurse practitioner indicted in major federal drug take down

A Wauwatosa couple was roped into a major federal opiate bust, U.S. Attorney Matt Krueger announced Friday.

Advanced nurse practitioner Lisa Hofshulz and her ex husband Robert made nearly $1.8 million dollars in cash selling controlled substances out of their Wawautosa clinic "Clinical Pain Consultants" in Mayfair Mall.

“Our nation faces a genuine crisis,” Krueger said.

Krueger and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel announced 5 Wisconsin indictments over opioid sales.

“Usually when we hold these press conferences here there’s a table full of guns that were seized from the drug dealers," Schimel said. "Not today. Because not all drug dealers carry guns.”

Krueger said Hofshulz was able to make so much money because she was selling excessive prescriptions, and for nonlegitimate medical use. He also said they roped recently graduated nurses into the practice.

“And provided them with inadequate training. No written policies. But instead pressured them to prescribe high dosages of opioids.”

Schimel says the public has been stepping up in the fight against opioid abuse, giving back 19 semi-trucks full, or 400,000 pounds of drugs on take back days since 2015.

Schimel says state and federal law enforcement will continue working together to take down dealers.

“This is a great example of a collaborative effort between state and local authorities, and we’re doing this over and over again.”

This was part of a national effort to fight opioid dealers. The Department of Justice says 600 medical professionals will be arrested for $2 billion dollars in fraud.