Monday morning, agents with the FBI, along with other federal and state investigators searched the offices of TN Valley Pain Specialists in South Knoxville. An FBI spokesman said federal and state authorities were conducting “court-authorized activity” there.

An attorney for Dr. David Newman, the facility’s medical director and co-owner, said Newman is only on premises one day a week. The attorney, Chris Hall, said Newman reviews onsite physician Dr. Steven Mynatt’s findings. “We have no clue what’s going on,” Hall said.

Mynatt, who oversees the clinic four days a week, sees patients and writes prescriptions.

According to independent non-profit news organization ProPublica, based on data released from Medicare patients utilizing Part D prescription plans, more than half of Mynatt’s prescriptions for Medicare patients were for opioids. Examining the same set of data, ProPublica found Newman hadn’t prescribed any opioids for Medicare patients.

Data obtained by ProPublica reflect only patients who file with Medicare, and does not necessarily hold true for every prescription written by the two physicians.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is working alongside federal authorities on the investigation.