COLUMBIA, S.C. — A pain management clinic with facilities in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina is accused of “liberally” prescribing unnecessary opioid painkillers.

News outlets report the U.S. Department of Justice joined three lawsuits this month that accuse the company, Pain Management Associates, of benefiting from over-prescribing the addictive drugs. The lawsuits, filed by former employees, were then partially unsealed.

Plaintiffs accuse the clinic of over-prescribing opioids to justify more urine screens, as the lab that handled the screens was owned by clinic owner Daniel McCollum.

One lawsuit says McCollum also owned a pharmacy that provided patient drugs. One lawsuit says most patients had Medicare, and so McCollum received federal reimbursements he wasn’t entitled to.

Several clinic offices were raided by the FBI in October. McCollum’s attorney, Rebekah Plowman, declined to comment.