Prince's doctor agrees to $30K settlement for drug violations

(KMSP) - A Minnesota doctor accused of illegally prescribing opioids to Prince in the days before his fatal overdose has agreed to pay the federal government $30,000 to settle alleged drug violations. 

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigation found Dr. Michael Schulenberg wrote prescriptions for controlled substances knowing the drugs were going to be used by someone else, likely Prince, which is a violation of the Controlled Substances Act. 

Prince was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate on April 21, 2016. The medical examiner later determined he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin. 

As part of the settlement, Schulenberg also agreed to comply with stricter requirements for logging and reporting his prescriptions of controlled substances to the DEA for the next two years. 

The settlement comes as prosecutors are expected to announce whether criminal charges will be filed in the two-year investigation into Prince’s death.