TDFP Exclusive: DEA Revokes Registration of Psychiatrist Muhamad Aly Rifai, Says He Falsified an Undercover Officer's Records
The Drug Enforcement Administration has revoked the federal registration that allowed Easton, Pennsylvania, psychiatrist Dr. Muhamad Aly Rifai to prescribe controlled substances, according to a final DEA order published Monday in the Federal Register and reviewed by The Digital Free Press.
The Decision and Order, signed Oct. 5 by DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole, finds that Rifai prescribed dextroamphetamine-amphetamine, the Schedule II stimulant sold under the brand name Adderall, to an undercover law enforcement officer three times in 2021 without a proper examination or diagnosis. It also finds that his medical records for the officer documented exams, tests and doctor-patient discussions that the officer swore never took place.
In explaining the decision, the order says "the falsification of medical records during the investigation shows a complete lack of candor of Respondent."
The order revokes DEA Certificate of Registration No. BR7552272 in Easton and denies any pending application by Rifai to renew or modify it, or for any other registration in Pennsylvania. It takes effect Nov. 18, 2026. The order concerns his federal DEA registration; it does not address his Pennsylvania medical license. Rifai runs Blue Mountain Psychiatry, which lists its Easton office at 241 North 13th Street, according to the practice's website.
TDFP has asked the DEA and Dr. Rifai for comment and will update this story.
Three Prescriptions in 2021
According to the order, the officer first visited on May 17, 2021, paid $300 in cash and was interviewed about her medical history by "students" at the practice. She told Rifai she had been prescribed dextroamphetamine-amphetamine by another doctor two to three years earlier and wanted it again. The order says Rifai checked Pennsylvania's prescription monitoring database and found no controlled substance prescribed to her in the past five years.
The order finds that "without diagnosing or specifying the nature of UC's condition and without counseling UC regarding any condition," Rifai prescribed 30 tablets of dextroamphetamine-amphetamine 5 mg. The only counseling it describes is Rifai saying, "[h]opefully[,] you'll be able to uh focus and concentrate and work on your sobriety."
On June 11, 2021, the order says, the officer spoke only with staff by phone and told a student the medication "just did not last throughout the day." Rifai then raised the prescription to 60 tablets of 10 mg, "without speaking to or reevaluating UC," the order says. On Aug. 9, 2021, after the officer told a student "I just think it doesn't last long enough," Rifai raised it again, to 60 tablets of 15 mg, the order says, again without speaking to her. The parties agreed that the three prescriptions were written on those dates and in those amounts, according to the order, and Pennsylvania prescription monitoring records show them filled.
What the DEA Found in Muhamad Aly Rifai's Records
In September 2023, the DEA subpoenaed Rifai's records for the officer. The order says he produced intake forms, symptom questionnaires, a stimulant treatment contract, urine drug screens, ADHD and anxiety rating scales, and progress notes describing a "secure video" visit in June and a "telehealth" and "Office Visit in person" in August.
In a declaration signed under penalty of perjury, the officer said she never filled out most of those forms, never gave a urine sample and never told Rifai many of the things his psychiatric evaluation recorded, including a family history of depression and alcoholism and a history of cannabis use. She also said Rifai copied her signature from a form she had signed onto records she never completed. The order says the agency compared the signatures and found her statement "true and correct."
The records also included a letter ending Rifai's "professional relationship" with the officer over cannabis use and a note that she reported having a medical marijuana card. The order says transcripts of her visit and calls confirm she never mentioned cannabis or a card, and that she never received the letter.
The agency found "substantial record evidence that Respondent falsified UC's medical records documenting telehealth examinations, in-person evaluations, diagnostic tests, and patient-doctor discussions that did not occur." It concluded that Rifai "seems to have falsified medical records and fabricated diagnostic test results and the urine test result because he knew that he lacked a legitimate medical purpose" for the prescriptions. It found violations of Pennsylvania medical recordkeeping and prescribing rules and of the federal rule that prescriptions be issued for a legitimate medical purpose.
How the Case Got Here
The DEA issued its Order to Show Cause on Nov. 30, 2023, and Rifai filed a timely request for a hearing on Dec. 28, 2023. A hearing was first set for April 29, 2024. On Aug. 20, 2024, after what the order calls "lengthy procedural exchanges," a DEA administrative law judge ended the proceedings, finding that Rifai "desires delay, during which time he can continue to prescribe schedule II controlled substances despite very serious allegations against him." The judge did not find him in default.
When DEA lawyers then asked for a default ruling, the Administrator refused in July 2025, finding that Rifai had "continued to defend his case and contest the allegation on their merits," and sent the case back for the government to present its evidence. The government refiled on Aug. 25, 2025. Because the hearing had been ended, the final order says Rifai waived his opportunity to present evidence, and it rests on the government's record, including the officer's declaration, the visit and phone transcripts, and the state prescription data.
The order notes that the government "typically" relies on expert testimony to show that prescriptions lacked a legitimate medical purpose, but says prior DEA decisions allow that finding without an expert based on the nature of the evidence, citing a 2010 case built on undercover visits and a falsified chart.
On the sanction, the order says "there is no record evidence that Respondent takes responsibility, let alone unequivocal responsibility, for the founded violations," and that "a sanction less than revocation would send a message to the existing and prospective registrant community that compliance with the law is not essential to maintaining a registration."
Under federal law, a person aggrieved by a final DEA decision may ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, or for the circuit where the person's principal place of business is located, to review it, by petition filed within 30 days after notice of the decision.
Acquitted in a Separate Medicare Case
The DEA order does not mention a separate federal criminal case. In 2022, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia charged Rifai with health care fraud over alleged improper Medicare billing. On May 9, 2024, a federal jury acquitted him of the charges in that indictment, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. That case involved billing allegations and is separate from the 2021 prescriptions at the center of the DEA order.
The Digital Free Press takes no position on the case and will update this story with any response from the DEA or Dr. Rifai.
Sources: Drug Enforcement Administration, "Muhamad Aly Rifai, M.D.; Decision and Order," Federal Register, 91 FR 66156-66163, FR Doc. 2026-21258, published Oct. 19, 2026: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-21258 (PDF: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-10-19/pdf/2026-21258.pdf); HHS Office of Inspector General, "UPDATED//Lehigh Valley Psychiatrist Charged With Stealing From Medicare Through Improper Billing Scheme": https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/enforcement/lehigh-valley-psychiatrist-charged-with-stealing-from-medicare-through-improper-billing-scheme/ ; U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/lehigh-valley-psychiatrist-charged-stealing-medicare-through-improper-billing-scheme ; 21 U.S.C. 877: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/21/877 ; Blue Mountain Psychiatry: https://bluepsychiatry.org/contact
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