Doctor exchanges prescriptions for sexual favors in Florida, feds say. He gets prison
.jpg "A doctor who was convicted of illegally prescribing controlled substances has been sentenced to federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.")
A doctor who can no longer practice medicine in Florida was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after he was accused of exchanging prescriptions for sexual favors, prosecutors said.
Following the tip from local law enforcement, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found evidence of Scott Andrew Hollington illegally prescribing medications out of Sawgrass Health, LLC, a mental health and drug treatment clinic he owned in St. Augustine, located about a 40-mile drive southeast from Jacksonville, according to prosecutors.
To investigate further, the DEA had five undercover officers visit his clinic to see whether Hollington would prescribe them medications without legit medical reasons between February and July 2022, prosecutors said.
During five appointments, Hollington gave the officers 17 prescriptions, including for Adderall, benzodiazepines including Valium and Xanax, and Suboxone, a medication that can help to treat addiction and drug withdrawal symptoms, according to prosecutors.
After Hollington’s indictment on federal charges, the government shared testimonies of four women at his trial, including three who prosecutors said “revealed that Hollington had exchanged, coerced, or solicited sexual favors for prescriptions.”
On March 28, a federal judge sentenced Hollington, 59, of St. Augustine, on 14 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and five counts of obstructing justice, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Hollington was represented by attorney Curtis Scott Fallgatter, who said in statement to McClatchy News on March 31 that Hollington “was, unfortunately, convicted for prescribing life-saving medications for persons who were admitted addicts (or undercover officers who pretended to be addicts).”
“These witnesses testified they would have died, from the illegal street drugs they were using, if they were not getting lawful, and life-saving prescriptions from him,” Fallgatter added.
The Florida Board of Medicine revoked Hollington’s medical license in an order dated May 3, following his conviction in the federal case, state records show.
A federal jury returned guilty verdicts against Hollington on July 25, 2023, according to prosecutors.
At his trial, the government presented the testimony of one woman who called Hollington a “monster,” prosecutors said.
In her written statement, she said Hollington “took advantage of her vulnerability while” she sought “help for addiction,” according to prosecutors.
Another woman testified that Hollington turned their conversation sexual during her appointment with him, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
She testified that Hollington asked whether “she needed a ‘sugar daddy’” and said he didn’t discuss medical reasons related to her visit, according to prosecutors.
When the undercover officers with the DEA visited Hollington at his clinic on separate occasions, prosecutors said he asked them about what drugs they preferred and “offered prescriptions without proper medical justification.”
For most of the officers’ appointments, Hollington prescribed medications without conducting physical exams and assessing their vitals, according to prosecutors. He was also accused of not properly documenting the visits.
After his indictment, prosecutors said Hollington changed medical notes for the undercover officers. Then he was charged with obstructing justice, according to prosecutors.
Fallgatter, during Hollington’s trial, told the courtroom that his client helped patients struggling with addiction by prescribing them “untainted” drugs so they wouldn’t have to obtain substances elsewhere, The Florida Times-Union reported.
Fallgatter didn’t deny the accusations involving Hollington exchanging prescriptions for sex, according to the newspaper.
However, Fallgatter emphasized “this case is not about a sex charge…It’s a drug case,” the newspaper reported.
Fallgatter told McClatchy News that Holington prescribed “life-saving drugs for a legitimate medical purpose, and should not have been indicted nor convicted.”
Hollington plans to file an appeal and is seeking new counsel to represent him, court records show.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Doctor exchanges prescriptions for sexual favors in Florida, feds say. He gets prison."
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