of the epidemic. Even as the DEA tried to get a handle on the drugs they did know were abused—like oxycodone (brand name Oxy- Contin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin)—the use of Ultram and Soma had been growing unimpeded, with Le Roux as one of the main engines. “It was like a cancer where the tumor was just multiply- ing by the day,” said John Horton, the founder of LegitScript, the Oregon-based company that monitors illegal online pharmacies. “We knew about those drugs, and the abuse potential. There is no doubt that this guy contributed to the prescription drug epidemic in this country. If you look at how much Soma, tramadol, and Fioricet that guy was selling—it's remarkable.”

As long as those three painkillers remained uncontrolled, the legal case against RX Limited would be challenging to make. Not impossible—Le Roux's doctors were prescribing drugs without ever having met their “patients,” a potential violation of the fed- eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. But without controlled sub- stances, the prosecution would be far from a slam dunk. Soma was already considered a controlled drug by some states, and other parts of the DEA had been pushing to get it controlled at the fed- eral level for a decade. But the Food and Drug Administration, whose approval was required, was “dragging their feet,” Bailey said. “Big Pharma, you know, they pay. It's like anything else.”

In the meantime, the investigators had been hanging their case largely on the idea that Fioricet, containing one controlled ingredi- ent, could be held out as a controlled substance itself. Brill, calling on her legal experience, successfully pushed to obtain a judgment from the DOJ that the full drug qualified as controlled.

Finally, in January 2012, the DEA declared Soma a Schedule IV controlled substance. Behind the scenes, Bailey said, the decision came about because of the investigation into RX Limited and cases like it. The question was whether it had come too late to nail Paul Le Roux.