HOUSTON -- Houston's Harwin Street is known for bargains on all types of items. But the latest craze is not something you wear, it's something you swallow, the KPRC Local 2 Troubleshooters reported Tuesday.

Dozens of bottles of prescription weight-loss drugs are doled out every day at the Internet Medical Clinic, located at 7447 Harwin near Fondren, the station reported.

"Oh yeah, it's a good thing. I've actually lost about 20 pounds already," customer Tammie Smith said.

Armed with hidden cameras, KPRC producers purchased the pills.

Phentermine and Triamterene, a popular appetite suppressant and weight-loss pill, are not available over the counter.

"They are prescription drugs and they are dangerous, so they do need to be very carefully monitored by a physician," said Gay Dodson, with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.

But on five visits to the clinic, it became very clear that there was no doctor on duty.

Producer: "Is the doctor here? Could I talk to …"

Clinic employee: "There's a nurse practitioner."

Producer: "But isn't there a doctor here, too?"

Clinic Employee: "Nurse practitioner is the only thing we provide."

Producer: "Oh. So you don't have a doctor here?"

Clinic employee: "Uh-uh"

On each visit, our producers saw two nurse practitioners.

In Texas, they can legally see and treat patients, but only under a doctor's supervision.

This clinic, along with five others in Houston, is operated by Dr. Roberto Zayas.

State law says he must be in the clinics at least once every 10 business days and immediately available in case of emergencies.

But this is what the clinic's assistant manager told the Troubleshooters about getting in touch with the doctor:

Amy Davis: "Do you know the best way to reach him if I wanted to talk to him?"

Clinic Employee: "I can't even reach him. I can't call him."

Amy Davis: "Really?"

Clinic Employee: "We e-mail him. We ... that's pretty much the only way we can get in touch with him."

"The total lack of a physician or near lack of a physician is never acceptable or appropriate," said Dr. Donald Patrick, the executive director of the Texas Medical Board.

Patrick said laws requiring the doctor's oversight are supposed to ensure that patients get the best care available.

"The worst scenario is a doctor never, ever seeing any patient," Patrick said.

But a former employee of Zayas' clinics told the Troubleshooters that the doctor's lack of supervision is what landed him in a Harris County courtroom last year.

The physician's assistant said he was left in charge of one of Zayas' clinics where he mistakenly gave a diabetic too much insulin. The mistake left the man with permanent brain damage. That patient won a $750,000 settlement from Zayas.

But just two months after that lawsuit, on KPRC's five visits to the clinic, Zayas was nowhere in sight.

At each location, the station found nurses running the show.

"And they can do everything he can without … they just need to have his name," Patrick said. "He's allowing an unlicensed person to practice medicine using his license."

After seeing what the Troubleshooters uncovered, the Texas Medical Board is investigating. But that's not all.

The State Pharmacy Board also said Zayas cannot legally sell the drugs. He can write prescriptions and give samples for up to three days.

But Zayas' clinics charge $120 for a two-month supply of the drugs. He even offers clients a free refill if they refer four friends.

Amy Davis: "What gives you the authority to give out these prescription drugs?"

Nurse practitioner: "The physician."

After repeated calls and e-mails to the physician's office, KPRC got no reply. The station tried tracking down Zayas at home, but found his primary residence is nowhere near his Houston clinics. State records showed he spends most of his time at his primary residence in Miami.

The State Board of Nurse Examiners paid a visit to the clinic last week with subpoenas to review all the medical records. The Drug Enforcement Administration is also investigating.