Report: Doctor got steroids by fraud

MANATEE — A Bradenton doctor used another physician’s identification to illegally obtain the anabolic steroid testosterone, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report.

Bradenton chiropractor David Stuart Zamikoff, 39, is accused of using another doctor’s Drug Enforcement Administration clearance number to enter a prescription request with a Ft. Lauderdale-area pharmacy, then signing off for the testosterone using a signature stamp of a second doctor.

Both doctors told detectives Zamikoff did not have permission to use their identification to obtain the drugs.

One of the witnesses told detectives he had given Zamikoff a prescription for testosterone in 2008 but not since.

The pharmacy’s records showed Zamikoff received seven such shipments of testosterone, according to the sheriff’s report.

Florida law classifies testosterone as a Schedule III narcotic, and as an anabolic steroid that has known medical uses. If misused, it can cause physical damage.

On Monday, sheriff’s detectives raided Zamikoff’s office, Natural Healing Arts, 2215 59th St. W., and found two bottles of testosterone with labels from the pharmacy, as well as a credit card used to purchase the drug, the sheriff’s report stated.

Detectives arrested Zamikoff on Monday on a charge of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. He has since been released from the Manatee County jail on $1,000 bond. Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Bristow said the investigation is ongoing, and more charges are possible in the case.

Zamikoff has been a licensed chiropractor in Florida since 2000, but his license was set to expire next month, according to Florida Department of Health records. He could not be reached for comment.