Healthcarediversion

Nurse Pleads Guilty To Tampering With Pain Medication, Sentenced to 12 months in Prison

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Rebecca Elaine Holloway, age 32, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to an Information charging her with one count of Tampering with Consumer Products, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1365(a) and (a)(4). Tampering with Consumer Products, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1365(a) and (a)(4) is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00, or both. On April 5, 2024, The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Rebecca Elaine Holloway, age 33, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for one count of Tampering with Consumer Products, a violation of Title 18, United Sates Code, Section 1365. On August 17, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office filed an information that charged Holloway with tampering with consumer products that affected interstate and foreign commerce, specifically fentanyl and hydromorphone, between on or about March 2022 and April 22, 2022. The charges arose from an investigation by the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. At the plea hearing on August 31, 2023, Holloway admitted to stealing fentanyl and hydromorphone intended for intensive care patients while she was employed at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Mercy Hospital in Ardmore, Oklahoma. As part of her plea agreement, Holloway confessed she removed the pain medication from their vials, refilled the empty vials with tap water, and returned the tampered vials to the controlled storage locker. Holloway admitted she did so despite knowing the pain medication vials were intended for patients in acute pain and distress, and that by depriving patients of the medication, she knew she was placing them at risk of death and bodily injury. “Patients rely on the knowledge that they will receive FDA-approved medications to manage their pain,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who jeopardize patients’ health by tampering with their pain medications.” “Our healthcare system is built upon trust,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “This office will not hesitate to prosecute health care workers who abuse that trust.” The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Assistant United States Attorney Kara Traster and Associate Chief Counsel Jason Chandler of the Food and Drug Administration represented the United States. Anyone who was a patient in the Mercy Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Ardmore, Oklahoma, between March 1, 2022, and April 22, 2022, and believes that they may have received a tampered dose of fentanyl or hydromorphone can contact the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations at 214-790-7545.

Arkansas nurse self-reports diverting and consuming hydrocodone from her employer.

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Arkansas LPN Kameron Leigh Charles voluntarily surrendered her license on July 1, 2021 after self-reporting that she diverted and consumed hydrocodone from her employer, Cabot Health and Rehab in Cabot, Arkansas. Nurse Charles was terminated mid-October 2020. In November, 2022, Kameron Leigh Charles was placed on probation for a duration of two years, with a set of stringent conditions including but not limited to:

Treatment Plan: The respondent must adhere to a treatment plan, including cognitive behavioral therapy, and provide progress reports to the Board.
Substance Abstinence: Complete abstinence from controlled substances, alcohol, and other specified products is required.
Drug Screening: The respondent must undergo observed drug screening as per Board guidelines.
Employer Notification: All present and future employers must be informed of the probation conditions, and a copy of the consent agreement and order must be presented to them.
Supervision: The respondent must work under supervision in all settings, with another nurse of equal licensure readily available for assistance.
Limitations on Employment: Certain nursing settings, including Home Health, Home Hospice, and Critical Care, are off-limits during probation.
Prescription Monitoring: Personal prescriptions will be monitored through the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
Travel Restrictions: The nurse's license is valid only in Arkansas during the probationary period.

Licensed nurse in Mississippi and Arkansas surrenders license after admitting to ordering over 1,000 Xanax pills.

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A licensed nurse in Mississippi and Arkansas has surrendered her license after admitting to obtaining controlled substances by fraudulent means. The Mississippi Board of Nursing issued charges against Crystal Rose Sealy Wilson, a licensed nurse in the state, alleging a violation of the Mississippi Nursing misappropriation of drugs and the possession and administration of controlled substances outside legal directives. According to the charges, Nurse Wilson admitted to ordering a total of 1,100 Xanax pills for herself over several occasions. These orders include 100 Xanax 0.5mg on June 10, 2021, 500 Xanax 1.0mg on July 26, 2021, and 100 Xanax 1.0mg on January 31, 2022. Ms. Wilson confessed to consuming and destroying the medication. In July of 2022, the Mississippi Board of Nursing outlined a settlement proposal for Ms. Wilson, who may be eligible to petition for the restoration of her nursing license one year after the acceptance date, contingent upon compliance with specific conditions. In December 2022, Nurse Wilson voluntarily surrendered her license in Arkansas and included a statement explaining that her decision to retire and surrender her license was to put an end to the scrutiny, and asserts her innocence.

Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Pain Medication from at Least 50 New Mothers

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

An Iowa nurse who stole pain medication from at least 50 new mothers at a Waterloo, Iowa hospital pled guilty on October 12, 2023, in federal court in Cedar Rapids, as was later sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Christina Eileen Olson, formerly known as Christina Eileen Hovey, age 43, of Waterloo, was convicted of one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge, one count of adulteration and misbranding with intent to defraud and mislead, and one count of false statements relating to health care matters. At the plea hearing, and in a plea agreement, Olson admitted that the State of Iowa granted her a nursing license in 2004. In 2017, a Waterloo hospital hired Olson to work as a nurse in its labor and delivery unit. As a nurse in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit, Olson was responsible for caring for late-term pregnant women, women in active labor, and post-partum women, including women recovering from recent Caesarean section (“c-section”) surgery. Obstetricians prescribed these women Schedule II narcotics, including hydromorphone, oxycodone, and fentanyl, to control physical pain associated with the birthing process. From January 2022 to March 25, 2022, Olson used her nursing license to gain access to controlled substances in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit. Instead of administering the controlled substances to the women in pain, Olson diverted the controlled substances to herself for her own illicit drug use. Olson admitted she stole narcotics from no less than 50 victims. To cover up her crimes, Olson used a variety of fraudulent means, including falsely documenting that she had administered pain medication to new mothers when she had not done so. Olson also admitted to tampering with pain medication—replacing fentanyl inside a vial with saline and diverting the narcotic for her own use. For example, on March 25, 2022, Olson was supposed to care for three new mothers and their babies during her shift from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. One of Olson’s victims, known in court documents as “Mother-1,” had given birth via c-section on March 23, 2022, in a high-risk pregnancy. In addition to caring for Mother-1, it was Olson’s responsibility to come into Mother-1’s room and document how much the baby was eating every hour, as this is important to ensure the health of a newborn. Instead of caring for Mother-1 and her baby, however, Olson never came into the room or checked on Mother-1 or her baby or administered pain medication to Mother-1 on March 25, 2023, even though Olson documented in the hospital’s records that she was administering pain medication to Mother-1. Rather, Olson diverted the pain medication to her own use. As a result of Olson’s crimes, Mother-1 suffered “horrible and excruciating pain” on March 25, 2023. Further, because Olson had created false health care records documenting that she had administered the pain medication to Mother-1, the next nurse on shift declined to give pain medication to Mother-1 for at least 30 additional minutes to ensure Mother-1 was not feigning her need for narcotics. And despite repeated requests by Mother-1’s husband for formula, Mother-1’s newborn did not receive any formula until the end of Olson’s shift. The next day, March 26, 2023, Olson was again working first shift at the hospital. During this shift, the hospital drug-tested Olson. The drug test was positive for opiates (oxycodone and hydromorphone) and marijuana. Another nurse then found an open fentanyl vial, an open ephedrine vial, and an epidural bag in another new mother’s room. The hospital’s records revealed that Olson had removed these three items under the new mother’s name despite the fact there were no such orders for her. The fentanyl vial had puncture marks on the top and bottom stopper surfaces, and laboratory results later revealed that nearly all the fentanyl in the vial had been replaced with saline. Olson admitted that she routinely drank alcohol and used marijuana while working at the Waterloo hospital. In September 2021, after receiving reports that Olson was disappearing from her shift for extended periods of time, the hospital’s director referred Olson to an employee assistance program. On September 9, 2021, however, Olson took a leave of absence from the hospital for about three months after she was arrested for drunk driving. Olson’s blood alcohol level at the time of her arrest was no less than .274. In July 2022, Olson entered into a settlement agreement with the Iowa Board of Nursing under which she agreed to voluntarily surrender her nursing license for one year. As a part of her plea agreement, Olson has agreed to forfeit her nursing license to the United States. Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Olson remains free on bond previously set. Olson faces a possible maximum sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 23-CR-2055. Olson had worked at MercyOne/Covenant, according to records and Courier archives.

At least 2 patients killed after Nurse Replaced Fentanyl in IV bags with Unsterile Tap Water. Hospital and nurse named in $11 million personal injury lawsuit.

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Medford, Ore. police on Jan. 3, 2024, confirmed they are investigating medication theft and concerns of adverse patient care at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center — a day after local news outlets reported on allegations from sources at the hospital who say several patient deaths may be tied to a nurse's actions. "In early December 2023, the Medford Police Department was contacted by officials from Asante in regards to a former employee that they believe was involved in the theft of controlled substances prescribed to patients," Lt. Geoff Kirkpatrick said in a statement. "Additionally, there was concern that this behavior resulted in adverse patient care, though the extent of the impact on those patients is yet to be determined. MPD is actively working on investigating these claims." The police statement described the investigation as "complex and ongoing," adding that no further details will be released at this time. Over the New Year's weekend, the Rogue Valley Times and NBC affiliate KOBI-TV reported that "multiple sources" at the Medford, Ore.-based hospital who declined to be identified alleged that a nurse had been taking fentanyl from IV bags and replacing it with unsterile tap water, which they claim led to severe infections caused by pseudomonas and multiple patient deaths. Officials at Asante Rogue Regional previously confirmed to the Rogue Valley Times that police are investigating one death. Becker's previously reached out to the hospital regarding the allegations; the hospital provided the following statement sent to multiple news outlets and declined to comment further: "We were distressed to learn of this issue. We reported it to law enforcement and are working closely with them," a spokesperson said in the Dec. 31 statement. In their Jan. 3 statement, Medford police said they have received "numerous calls" from people asking if they or a family member had been affected by the "suspected actions of the former Asante employee." "Asante has informed MPD that they have identified the involved patients and have notified or are in the process of notifying them or their families," police said. Families of two patients who died at the hospital over the past year told the Rogue Valley Times they were recently notified by Asante officials that the deaths of their family members were allegedly caused by infections after their pain medication was tampered with.

Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to Drug Diversion from Boston-Area Hospital

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A former nurse in Boston pleaded guilty in federal court on August 4, 2023 to diverting opioids from a Boston-area hospital. She was sentenced to three months in prison and one year of supervised release on November 15, 2023. Andrea Falzano, 39, of Winchester, pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception, and subterfuge. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Nov. 14, 2023. Falzano was indicted on Feb. 24, 2023. According to admissions made in connection with her guilty plea, beginning in May 2019, Falzano used her capacity as a nurse in the emergency department at a Massachusetts based hospital to withdraw controlled substances from a locked drug cabinet. These substances included morphine, fentanyl, and hydromorphone, all of which are opioids and Schedule II controlled substances. In total, Falzano withdrew these substances 412 times for 299 already discharged patients over an approximately five-month period. The charge of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud provides a sentence of up to four years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Office; and Margret R. Cooke, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Panich of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

Texas authorities uncovered an alleged prescription fraud case involving a hospital nurse and his mother. Both individuals face charges of fraudulent intent to obtain controlled substances.

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Authorities have arrested a mother and son after the son, an employee at a hospital, allegedly wrote prescriptions for his mother to a local pharmacy to be filled. Christine Denise Smith and Jason Christopher Schobert were arrested by police for alleged prescription medication fraud. According to the arrest warrants, in January 2023, Special Agents from the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, conducted an investigation after they discovered fraudulent prescriptions had allegedly been called into a Wichita Falls pharmacy by Schobert on Nov. 14, 2022. Three medications, Alprazolam, Tramadol, and Testosterone Cypionate. The alleged prescription fraud was discovered by a doctor while reviewing a patient’s prescription history. When questioned, the patient, later identified as Smith, said she had gone to a hospital and was prescribed the medications. A doctor at the hospital said Smith was never seen at the hospital, and he did not prescribe or give permission to prescribe the medication. According to the arrest warrant, Schobert was employed at a hospital at the time and the patient, Smith, was later discovered to be Schobert’s mother. During a post-Miranda interview, Schobert denied calling in the prescriptions but admitted to picking them up from the pharmacy and giving them to Smith. He said Smith knew the medications were obtained using fraudulent prescriptions. The investigation also discovered Smith enlisted two other individuals to obtain additional amounts of controlled substance refills. Both Smith and Schobert were charged with fraudulent intent to obtain controlled substances. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing has also ordered Schobert, who holds a Texas RN Multistate License, to immediately cease and desist from the practice of nursing in Arkansas. This action comes after the respondent's employment was terminated due to evidence of controlled substance activity, including missing and mishandling drugs. The respondent tested positive for fentanyl in a drug screen, leading to the involuntary termination.

Ohio physician pleads guilty to 31 counts of illegally prescribing opioids, distributing controlled substances, and committing healthcare fraud.

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

An Ohio physician pled guilty to charges that he prescribed opioids for nonmedical purposes and continued to prescribe to patients he knew had psychiatric and substance use disorders, admitting that he also engaged in sex with at least three patients in exchange for opioids. Jeffrey B. Sutton, DO, a neuromuscular medicine specialist, pled guilty on January 30 in federal court to 31 counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances, one count of illegally distributing controlled substances, and 20 counts of healthcare fraud. Prosecutors said Sutton admitted that he ignored warnings from prescription drug management organizations, insurers, and state authorities that he was prescribing excessively high dosages of opioids. Sutton also admitted to ignoring patient requests to lower dosages and that he also ignored signs that patients were selling prescribed medications or otherwise engaging in illicit activity, including violations of a "pain management agreement" that he required them to sign. The fraud counts pertained to Sutton billing Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurers for medically unnecessary visits that he required of patients so that he could prescribe inappropriate or unnecessary opioids. In the charging document shared with Medscape Medical News, prosecutors said Sutton had sex with at least three patients, including during office visits and outside of the office. Occasionally, the physician would give opioids or other controlled substances — often benzodiazepines — to these patients, without a prescription or valid medical need. Sutton escalated the dosage for one of those patients, even as the subjective pain score did not improve and when the patient's urine tests showed the presence of THC and buprenorphine, but not any of the prescribed medications. Another patient came to Sutton in 2007 with a warning that she had a history of "narcotic-seeking" behavior and diagnoses of depression, anxiety, paranoid schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The patient was hospitalized in 2018 for complications from benzodiazepine use (prescribed by Sutton). She weighed 80 pounds at the time. Sutton continued to prescribe benzodiazepines and extreme doses of opioids — in excess of 2000 morphine equivalent dose — "despite recognizing and documenting repeated instances of non-compliance with treatment for psychiatric conditions, and despite the known contraindications of long-term opioid use for patients with these mental illnesses," according to the charging document. Sutton continued to prescribe opioids despite two hospitalizations for overdoses, more than 20 failed urine drug screens that showed presence of illicit drugs such as cocaine, and documented excessive use of alprazolam (Xanax) and methadone. The physician surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration Certificate of Registration of Controlled Substances Privileges in February 2022 "as an indication of your good faith in desiring to remedy any incorrect or unlawful practices on your part," according to a letter to Sutton from the State Medical Board of Ohio. In that September 2022 letter, the Board notified Sutton of its intention to possibly suspend or revoke his license. Sutton did not request a hearing, and the Board permanently revoked his medical license on January 16.

Former Licensed Registered Nurse Sentenced to 15 Months for Product Tampering

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A former SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital nurse pleaded guilty to tampering with vials of fentanyl while working at the hospital, and was sentenced to 15 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, and fined $30,000 due and payable immediately. Officials said Dawn Drum, 54, of Janesville pleaded guilty to product tampering. Prosecutors allege that Drum removed fentanyl from vials and replaced it with saline, then resealed the vials with superglue. Drum then allegedly put the tampered vials into an automated medication dispensing system so that could be used with other patients. In November 2021, hospital staff confronted Drum after an audit of machine transactions in her name allegedly showed she had an excessive pattern of fentanyl overrides and wastes in comparison with other employees. Drum was asked to take a drug test, but she refused and resigned. DOJ officials said they are recommending the Court sentence Drum to 18 months in prison and fine her $30,000.

Arkansas nurse on a traveling contract assignment in Missouri voluntarily surrenders license after being caught with stolen Fentanyl.

Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Arkansas Board of Nursing disciplinary records indicate Arkansas nurse voluntarily surrendered her license after getting caught stealing fentanyl while on a travelling contract in Missouri. Christal Gayle Hart, a contract worker at the University of Missouri Healthcare, was stopped by security on her way out of the building after coworkers reported "odd" behavior and an inventory count showed that 9.5-10ml of Fentanyl was unaccounted for. Upon searching Hart's bag, they found Fentanyl, an empty bottle of Morphine and syringes both in packaging and not. When asked if she had diverted any medication from the hospital, Hart denied doing so. Human Resources ultimately decided against a drug screen and opted to end Hart's contract with the hospital instead. Christal Hart was later issued a cease and desist against privilege to practice in March 2022 by the Missouri State Board of Nursing, and ultimately surrendered her license voluntarily in July 2022. Hart reached an agreement with the Board that included a period of probation, during which Hart is required to complete programs, including regular drug testing and counseling. Hart may be eligible to apply for reinstatement of their license and return to practice after a period of time has elapsed and all the requirements of the agreement have been met.

Arkansas nurse voluntarily surrenders license after reviews of medical records uncover diversion of controlled substances at two separate facilities.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse in Arkansas, Courtney Nicole Oliver Fennell, gave up her license voluntarily when it was discovered that she had diverted controlled substances in two different healthcare facilities, as revealed by reviews of medical records. Fennell was employed at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences when a diversion monitoring report identified Fennell as suspicious for diversion. A pharmacy audit of records in November of 2019 revealed she had 105 instances of narcotic removal with none recorded in the patient's record, totaling 155 tablets of different controlled substances. Seven medical records were reviewed dated between November and December of 2018, and results indicated 1395 mg Oxycodone was unaccounted for, as well as 135 mg of Morphine. Fennell was then terminated for gross misconduct. Fennell voluntarily surrendered her license on May 16, 2019. With dedicated treatment and rehabilitation through the probation program, Fennell has a chance to recover and regain their license.

Arkansas nurse voluntarily surrenders license after reviews of medical records uncover diversion of controlled substances at two separate facilities.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse in Arkansas, Courtney Nicole Oliver Fennell, gave up her license voluntarily when it was discovered that she had diverted controlled substances in two different healthcare facilities, as revealed by reviews of medical records. On August 16, 2018, during Fennell's employment at St. Vincent's Infirmary, a coworker found two Tylenol #3 packages in the employee restroom. Fennell was found to have taken three Tylenol #3 but only administered one. To investigate this issue, a for-cause drug screen was conducted, which resulted in the detection of oxycodone. Medical records from July 31, 2018, to August 12, 2018, were reviewed, and it was observed that 300 mg of Codeine, 10mg of Hydrocodone, and 90 mg of Oxycodone were unaccounted for. Fennell resigned. Fennell voluntarily surrendered her license on May 16, 2019. With dedicated treatment and rehabilitation through the probation program, Fennell has a chance to recover and regain their license.

Doctor and staff plead guilty to prescribing controlled substances without a proper examination & using pre-signed prescription pads.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A licensed primary care physician along with three members of his clinical staff and his office manager were sentenced Thursday for unlawful distribution of controlled substances and Medicaid fraud. According to court documents, Dr. Alfonso Luevano, 53, of Carrizo Springs prescribed large amounts of controlled substances, primarily Schedule II opioids, on a regular basis with little or no medical examination. He also directed mid-level practitioners to provide patients with prescriptions using prescription pads that he had pre-signed. According to data from the Texas prescription management program, Luevano and his mid-level practitioners issued at least 20,000 controlled substance prescriptions between March 2016 and March 2018. Hydrocodone alone comprised at least 50 percent of the prescriptions. The investigation also revealed several instances of Luevano prescribing patients a potentially lethal combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxer. These illegal prescriptions resulted in multiple patient overdoses, at least two of which were fatal. Dr. Luevano was sentenced to 121 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine. He also agreed to forfeit his Texas medical license and to sell his medical office building to pay the restitution and fine. Nurse practitioners Sara Barker, 47, and Rafael Santana, 49, along with licensed physician’s assistant Richard Marquez, 62, were also sentenced. Each had previously pleaded guilty to facilitating the unlawful prescriptions by seeing patients and then directing that the pre-signed prescription pads be filled out with controlled substances. Barker was sentenced to 18 months in prison; Santana received a one-year sentence; and Marquez received two years. Each will also pay a $5,000 fine. In addition, office manager Ofelia Martinez, 53, was sentenced on a single count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In her plea agreement, Martinez admitted that she had overbilled the Texas Medicaid program for the appointments conducted by the mid-level practitioner defendants by billing them as if Dr. Luevano had personally performed the appointment. Martinez was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $127,421 in restitution to the Medicaid program. Dr. Luevano also agreed in his plea to be jointly and severally liable for that same amount.

Kansas long-term care pharmacy was improperly paid by the Medicare and Medicaid programs for dispensing controlled substances without valid prescriptions.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

PharmScript of KS, LLC, a long-term care pharmacy in Lenexa, Kansas, agreed on December 13, 2022 to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated federal law by dispensing controlled substances to residents in nursing and long-term care facilities without valid prescriptions and that the company was wrongfully reimbursed by the Medicare and Medicaid programs. PharmScript of KS, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of PharmScript Holdco, LLC and provides medication and pharmaceutical services to patients in skilled nursing facilities and to residents in assisted living facilities in Kansas and Missouri. PharmScript of KS, LLC self-reported violations of the Controlled Substances Act to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which conducted its own investigation. The federal government alleged that between October 1, 2019, through March 31, 2021, PharmScript of KS, LLC dispensed Schedule II controlled substances for purported emergencies when quantities of the controlled substances dispensed were greater than what was adequate for the emergency period and that PharmScript of KS, LLC failed to obtain written prescriptions within seven days after a verbal authorization. The government also alleged that other controlled substances were dispensed without a written prescription and when no verbal authorization was received from a physician. The government also resolved claims that PharmScript of KS, LLC was improperly paid by the Medicare and Medicaid programs for dispensing controlled substances without valid prescriptions. In nearly all circumstances, Schedule II controlled substances require a written prescription by a physician, and refills are not permitted by law. The Controlled Substances Act allows pharmacists to dispense Schedule II controlled substances, such as opioid pain medications, without a written prescription only in true emergency situations. When allowed for emergencies, it is only for the quantity of drugs necessary to treat the patient during the emergency period. Emergency prescriptions must promptly be reduced to writing and signed by an authorizing physician within seven days of issuance. Failure to meet these requirements results in an illegal dispensing of controlled substances without a valid prescription.

Former nurse at Pennsylvania medical center accused of falsifying records to acquire morphine for personal use rather than administering it to patients.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Pennsylvania state prosecutors on December 13, 2022, accused a now former Mount Nittany Medical Center nurse of using subterfuge and falsifying records to acquire morphine that she never administered to patients but rather kept for herself. According to a criminal complaint filed by investigators for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, access records and video showed a registered nurse used a controlled system to dispense vials of morphine sulfate that were not delivered to the emergency department patients for whom she indicated they were drawn on three occasions in June and July. When hospital staff became aware of what the nurse was allegedly doing, she was pulled from work and sent for a fitness for duty examination. A urinalysis drug screen yielded positive results for morphine, amphetamine and marijuana, according to the complaint. The investigation began on July 7 when another nurse entered an employee restroom that requires ID scanning for entry and found a syringe in the toilet. The nurse who found it did not access the medication system that day and immediately reported it to security and a supervisor, investigators wrote. Records allegedly showed the nurse was the last person to enter the restroom before the syringe was discovered. An investigation found that the nurse withdrew morphine from the fingerprint-controlled medication system, which also requires a patient name and corresponding prescription, about six minutes before entering the restroom. She then manually recorded the time she claimed it was administered to the patient instead of using the more precise and common procedure of scanning the medication barcode and patient wristband at the time of administration, according to the complaint. “A manual entry can be entered at any time on a patient’s chart and is an indication of drug diversion,” an investigator wrote. Reviews of two incidents in June allegedly revealed that the nurse used syringes of saline to make it appear in the presence of another nurse that she was “wasting” or properly disposing of excess amounts of morphine. Instead, investigators wrote, the nurse kept the leftover amount concealed in a vial in her pocket. According to Pennsylvania Department of State records, the nurse’s license was indefinitely suspended in September. Mount Nittany Health confirmed the nurse no longer works at the hospital. The nurse was charged with three felony counts of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation and three misdemeanor counts each of possession of a controlled substance and furnishing false or fraudulent material information under the Controlled Substances Act.

Pharmacy owner sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay 9 million dollars following his guilty plea to wire fraud and money laundering.

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Livonia pharmacy owner Zaman Alshafey was sentenced to three years in federal prison by United States District Court Judge Jonathan J.C. Grey following his guilty plea to wire fraud and money laundering. He was also ordered to forfeit approximately $9 million dollars as the gross proceeds of his unlawful conduct, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. The pharmacist was the owner and operator of Med Pro Pharmacy in Livonia, Michigan. Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, of the Food and Drug Administration. Alshafey used his pharmacy license and Medpro Pharmacy in Livonia to order more than $2.5 million dollars of pint-sized bottles of promethazine cough syrup from various wholesale distributors who operate outside the State of Michigan. Alshafey then sold the promethazine cough syrup to drug dealers without a valid prescription from a licensed practitioner and he failed to disclose this to the wholesalers. Alshafey paid the wholesalers via wire transfers from funds derived from the unlawful dispensing of the promethazine. Promethazine is restricted to be dispensed by prescription only per the bottle’s label. Promethazine cough syrup can have tranquilizing and euphoric effects when consumed at higher-than-recommended dose, especially when mixed with alcohol or other drugs such as fentanyl. Promethazine cough syrup has been referred on the illegal street market as “Green Drink” or “Purple Drink.” “A pharmacist violates the public’s trust by unlawfully dispensing any drug, including promethazine cough syrup,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “We will continue to prosecute licensed professionals who wantonly engage in conduct that significant harms are community.” “Providing misbranded prescription drugs puts all consumers’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who jeopardize the public’s health.” The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Regina R. McCullough. Assistant United States Attorney Gjon Juncaj, of the Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Unit handled related forfeiture matters and the investigation was conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

Arkansas nurse surrenders license due to unsafe practice from substance use and controlled substance diversion.

Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

An Arkansas nurse has voluntarily surrendered their license after being deemed unable to practice safely due to alcohol or other substance use, as well as inappropriate acquisition or diversion of controlled substances. According to the Arkansas State Board of Nursing, the nurse agreed to surrender their license in lieu of further disciplinary action.

Registered Nurse in treatment program arrested for trying to obtain controlled substances by fraud and diverting fentanyl.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse in Florida has voluntarily given up their license and entered into a treatment program after being arrested for trying to obtain controlled substances by fraud and diverting fentanyl. An investigation stemmed from an internal complaint about Rachel Holly Dykes, a nurse at Ascension St. Vincent's Medical Center. The nurse admitted to diverting Fentanyl and is no longer employed at the facility. The nurse agrees to never reapply for licensure in Florida and to cease practicing immediately.

Florida nurse voluntarily surrenders license after investigation into waste leads to admission of diversion.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A Registered Nurse in Florida voluntarily relinquished her license as a registered nurse in Florida after an investigation was launched due to a complaint of diversion from Lakeland Regional Health. During an investigation into missing waste, the hospital determined there were other controlled substances not accounted for. Megan D Davis admitted to taking three Percocets without properly disposing of them. Davis agreed to never reapply for licensure in Florida and to cease practicing immediately upon relinquishing her license. She also waived confidentiality and probable cause determinations and agreed to waive all rights to challenge or contest the validity of the relinquishment.

Florida nurse voluntarily relinquishes license following allegations of drug diversion.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Former registered nurse Anna Lee Carlisle has voluntarily surrendered her license to practice as a registered nurse in the State of Florida, according to documents filed with the Florida Board of Nursing. The voluntary relinquishment comes amid an investigation into allegations that Carlisle had diverted large quantities of oxycodone from Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare. According to the complaint, Carlisle had pulled narcotics for patients not assigned to her, but the medications were never given to patients. When confronted by leadership, Carlisle resigned from Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare. The complaint also alleges that Carlisle submitted a drug screen and tested positive for benzodiazepines. Carlisle has agreed to never reapply for licensure as a nurse in the state of Florida and to voluntarily cease practicing nursing immediately.

Registered nurse employed at a drug rehabilitation center admits to stealing controlled substances.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Florida Department of Health has filed an administrative complaint before the Board of Nursing against Victoria Lyne Bodziak, alleging that she used her position as a nurse at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center to access and divert a controlled substance. The complaint states that Bodziak replaced buprenorphine tablets with another drug and did not have a legitimate purpose to be in possession of buprenorphine. Bodziak admitted to abusing her prescriptions and was diagnosed with moderate opioid use disorder by a physician specializing in addiction medicine.

Florida accused of stealing hydromorphone and providing it to patients without prescriptions, using their fingerprint and credentials to access the drugs.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A Florida ER nurse is suspected of taking 11 doses of Hydromorphone without authorization from the hospital's pharmacy, and giving them to patients without work orders. The pharmacy director reported that none of the nurse's patients were prescribed the medication, and it was against the hospital's policy to dispense medication without a work order. The nurse was fired after failing to show up for a drug test and later admitted to taking the medication and providing it to patients without proper documentation. Based on evidence and statements, the nurse was arrested for providing a controlled substance, Hydromorphone, that is not medically necessary to their patients in violation of Florida State Statute.

Former nurse pleads guilty to injecting herself with fentanyl at a Florida surgical center, replacing it with saline. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Catherine Shannon Dunton, 54, has pled guilty in federal district court in Fort Pierce to tampering with a consumer product.

From approximately February 28 to April 18, 2022, Dunton, a Florida licensed Registered Nurse (RN), worked at an outpatient surgical center in Jensen Beach, Martin County, Fla. as a circulating nurse. While working at the center, Dunton took vials of fentanyl, a narcotic painkiller in liquid form, and self-administered it by injection. To avoid detection, she replaced the fentanyl from nearly 450 vials with saline solution, and then returned the adulterated vials to the center for use during outpatient surgical procedures.

At sentencing, Dunton faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. According to an investigation conducted in August by the Florida Department of Health, during a two-month period beginning in February at The Surgery Center of Jensen Beach, Dunton took vials of pain relievers meant for patients and swapped them with saline. Dunton, hired at the center in 2021, reported switching the fentanyl for saline vials “two to three days a week.” “Ms. Dunton admitted that she knew there were occasions where the patients would only receive the saline,” a state emergency restriction order stated. State records show Dunton had a history of substance abuse troubles, dating to 2008, when she worked at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce. In May 2022, Dunton reported to the Intervention Project for Nurses, an impaired practitioner program, she had completed an alcohol and drug treatment program. She was evaluated by Dr. Lawrence Wilson, who specializes in addiction medicine and psychiatry, records show. During her evaluation, Dunton acknowledged that while working at Lawnwood, she diverted powerful painkillers including Demerol, morphine, fentanyl and Percocet “for her personal use,” according to a state emergency order. Her nursing license was temporarily suspended in 2012 after an employer-requested drug screen returned positive for fentanyl. She told Wilson that in March 2021 she started to occasionally consume alcohol and that she experienced blackouts. She took a toxicology test in May and came back positive for fentanyl, the records show. Wilson diagnosed Dunton with severe opioid use disorder and an alcohol addiction and concluded she was “not able to practice nursing with reasonable skill and safety to patients.”

Two Louisiana pharmacies shut after "unlawfully reckless and negligent dispensing" of drugs without addressing "red flags" of drug diversion.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

According to the DEA, the pharmacy became the focus of DEA's attention based on data acquired during a larger investigation concerning Morris & Dickson, Co., L.L.C (M&D), a major pharmaceutical distributor in Louisiana. As part of the M&D investigation, it came to DEA's attention that the pharmacy was one of the top purchasers of oxycodone and hydrocodone in the state. Their investigation showed patients who traveled long distances from their home addresses to the pharmacy, and that many patients received the highest available quantity and strength of various opioids. A social media post by Medical Pharmacy, Inc. on 12/24/22, directed customers to Central Pharmacy, on Sullivan road in Baton Rouge, where their prescriptions would be transferred following the early 2023 shut-down. A phone call produced a recorded message that thanked the community for its support over more than 50 years. The executive director of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy tells WBRZ that his office was notified on Dec. 23 that the company’s locations on Church Street and on West Park Drive would cease operations on Jan. 2. He noted that the state board had no disciplinary action in place that would have led to the closures. However, a WBRZ News review of federal records shows that the Drug Enforcement Administration called for the revocation of Medical Pharmacy, Inc.’s Certificate of Registration “because on numerous occasions between October 2016 and September 2019, it repeatedly filled prescriptions without addressing or resolving factual indicia (i.e., ‘‘red flags’’) of potential drug diversion. According to the Government, this constituted unlawfully reckless and negligent dispensing.” The findings were published as “conclusively established in this case.” The Federal Register of Dec. 20, 2021, indicates that applications for renewal of the company's registration should be denied. Medical Pharmacy, Inc., served as a compounding pharmacy – meaning its locations could combine drugs and other ingredients on site to serve patients with certain special needs. Its first location opened in 1968, followed by the second in 2005.

Two Louisiana pharmacies shut after "unlawfully reckless and negligent dispensing" of drugs without addressing "red flags" of drug diversion.

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Massachusetts pharmacy tech stole nearly 18,000 doses of oxycodone, fentanyl, and other substances from automated dispensing machines at several locations.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Northeast Hospital Corporation (Northeast), part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, has agreed to pay $1.9 million in civil penalties to resolve allegations that Northeast violated the Controlled Substance Act (the CSA) by failing to keep accurate records of controlled substances, including opioids. The CSA requires accurate inventorying and tracking of each controlled substance in circulation, from the manufacturer to the ultimate user. The recordkeeping requirements are intended, in part, to prevent misuse of controlled substances and avoid overdoses or other harms. Northeast does business as Beverly Hospital in Beverly, Mass.; Lahey Outpatient Center Danvers in Danvers, Mass.; BayRidge Hospital in Lynn, Mass.; and Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester, Mass. Each of these four locations is separately registered with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to handle controlled substances. The DEA began investigating Northeast after it reported on March 22, 2018, that an employee had stolen 17,846 dosage units of controlled substances, including fentanyl, Percocet, oxycodone, dextroamphetamine and MS Contin, over more than a year. Northeast discovered the diversion in the course of implementing improvements to its pharmacy operations and controlled substances accountability procedures, and promptly suspended the employee. The settlement resolves allegations that Northeast’s recordkeeping was not in compliance with the CSA and its regulations. According to the admissions in the settlement, Northeast ordered controlled substances under Beverly Hospital’s DEA registration but subsequently transferred the location of those drugs to other Northeast locations, without notifying the DEA of such inter-registrant transfers. DEA requires that registrants notify the agency of transfers of controlled substances between registrants through filings with the DEA, even when transfers are among affiliated entities. The settlement also resolves allegations that, based on DEA’s audit of the controlled substances that Northeast had on site, Northeast’s actual controlled substances inventory differed from what its records showed should be present. As part of the settlement, in addition to the improvements undertaken by Northeast voluntarily, both before and after the DEA investigation, Northeast has agreed to additional security and recordkeeping measures.

Massachusetts pharmacy tech stole nearly 18,000 doses of oxycodone, fentanyl, and other substances from automated dispensing machines at several locations.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Massachusetts pharmacy tech stole nearly 18,000 doses of oxycodone, fentanyl, and other substances from automated dispensing machines at several locations.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

RGIS LLC (RGIS) and its affiliated company, Retail Services WIS Corporation (WIS), agreed to pay $158,760 to resolve allegations that they caused violations of the Controlled Substances Act. RGIS and WIS employees were implicated in the theft of controlled substances from pharmacies in upstate New York and throughout the United States. As part of the settlement, RGIS and WIS are changing their policies to require more thorough vetting of employees assigned to inventory pharmacies nationwide. RGIS and WIS provide inventory services to client-retail stores throughout the United States, including retail pharmacies. According to RGIS and WIS policies, only handpicked, high-caliber, well-respected employees are assigned to pharmacy inventory teams and they are required to undergo a drug test and criminal background check. RGIS and WIS maintain a “zero tolerance policy” for theft. Despite these policies, RGIS and WIS employees were implicated in stealing controlled substances from several pharmacies. For example, in July 2017, an RGIS employee stole Vicodin pills while inventorying a retail pharmacy in Schenectady, New York. RGIS terminated the employee but later rehired him. In 2020, that same employee was implicated in stealing narcotics from three pharmacies in Fort Edward, Saratoga, and Glens Falls, New York. RGIS employees were also implicated in stealing narcotics from pharmacies in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Louisiana. In addition, WIS employees were implicated in stealing narcotics from pharmacies in Dallas, Duncanville, and Little Elm, Texas. RGIS and WIS agreed to implement additional procedures to ensure the proper vetting of employees assigned to inventory pharmacies, and to make the results of the vetting available to their pharmacy-clients. The pharmacy-clients, as DEA registrants, are ultimately responsible for supervising all personnel on the premises and preventing the diversion of controlled substances.

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Massachusetts pharmacy tech stole nearly 18,000 doses of oxycodone, fentanyl, and other substances from automated dispensing machines at several locations.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jacksonville pharmacist, pharmacy owner sentenced for illegally filling drug prescriptions issued by south Georgia doctor from 2014-2017.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A pharmacist and a pharmacy owner await sentencing after pleading guilty to charges related to a conspiracy to unlawfully dispense controlled substances. Gilbert Nelson Weise, Jr., 58, of Jacksonville, Fla., faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to dispense controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Weise also faces substantial financial penalties and up to three years of supervised release after completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. “As demonstrated through this investigation, pill-mill clinics cannot thrive without pharmacists willing to fill their unlawful prescriptions,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Pharmacists have an obligation to scrutinize suspicious controlled substances and ensure they are issued for legitimate purpose. In this case, not only did the defendant negligently ignore the presence of red flags, but he also knowingly and intentionally agreed to fill prescriptions that he knew to be unlawful and appropriately is being held to account.” As described in court documents, from on or about Oct. 9, 2014 to June 13, 2017, in Camden County, in the Southern District of Georgia, in the Middle District of Florida, and elsewhere, Weise and others conspired to dispense hydromorphone, oxycodone, and hydrocodone, among other drugs, for no legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice, in violation of federal law. The prescriptions in question were issued at a nominal pain management clinic known as Coastline Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Inc. in St. Mary’s, Ga. The physician at Coastline – who was charged in the indictment but subsequently judged incapable of standing trial – routinely dispensed controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice and in so doing generated significant amounts of cash. Between Oct. 9, 2014 and June 13, 2017, drug-seeking customers typically paid approximately $300 cash to Coastline in exchange for prescriptions. To enable more patients to fill their prescriptions, a co-conspirator contacted Weise, Jr., who agreed to fill Coastline’s prescriptions at Weise Prescription Shop located in Jacksonville, Fla. Given the high volume of Coastline’s prescriptions, a second pharmacy known as Coastal RX Pharmacy also began filing Coastline’s prescriptions. The co-owner of Coastal RX Pharmacy, Amy G. Taylor, 42, of Jacksonville, also awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to an information charging Misprision of Felony. Specifically, Taylor agreed that she had knowledge of and concealed the unlawful conspiracy and did not report that knowledge to a lawful authority, in violation of federal law.

Jacksonville pharmacist, pharmacy owner sentenced for illegally filling drug prescriptions issued by south Georgia doctor from 2014-2017.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Jacksonville Pharmacist, Pharmacy Owner Admit to Charges Related to Illegally Filling Drug Prescriptions Issued by South Georgia Doctor

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Three Georgia medical professionals sentenced for distributing ‘massive quantities’ of controlled substances from ‘pill mill’ over four years.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two healthcare professionals, Wandle Keith Butler and Bridgett Stephanie Taylor, were recently sentenced after pleading guilty to their participation in a "drug trafficking conspiracy" that occurred at practices owned and managed by Dr. Wallace Steve Anderson. Dr. Anderson, who pleaded guilty in July, faces up to 5 years in prison and will be sentenced next month. All three defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense Schedule IV controlled substances. Taylor and Butler were both sentenced by a federal judge, with Butler receiving prison time. Butler was sentenced to an 18-month prison term, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $2,296.29 in restitution. While Taylor will not be serving time in prison after receiving 48 months of probation, she will have to pay $20,000 in restitution. The case first made headlines on October 6, 2020, when Anderson was arrested after multiple agencies executed federal search warrants at his local medical practices and Douglas home. The search began around 9:00 a.m., with detectives collecting and seizing evidence all day. Later in the day, Anderson was booked into the Coffee County Jail on one count of possession of a Schedule III controlled substance in violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act. He was released on bail the following morning. Almost a year later, Anderson, Butler, and Taylor were all charged in a 52-count federal indictment, accusing the three healthcare providers of a conspiracy to distribute "massive quantities" of controlled substances, "including highly addictive opioids." The indictment alleged that the three defendants operated or assisted in operating "normal pain management and addiction facilities which dispensed controlled substances without any legitimate purpose." Officials also stated the crimes occurred for more than four years, from February 1, 2016, until September 30, 2020. Anderson was the owner of two Douglas-based practices, Steve Anderson, PC, and Steve Anderson Behavioral Health, with Taylor working under Anderson as a Nurse Practitioner, and Butler working as a Physician Assistant for the practice. DOJ officials released a statement earlier this year, announcing that both Anderson, Taylor, and Butler pleaded guilty to their participation in the scheme. The release stated, "A Coffee County physician and two of his employees have admitted to participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed massive amounts of addictive controlled substances from a pain management clinic." The release also said that in pleading guilty, Anderson and his employees admitted that for four years, his nominal pain management and addiction facilities distributed alprazolam, temazepam, and clonazepam "not for a legitimate purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice." The defendants committed the act, according to the release, by providing pre-signed refill prescriptions before patients were examined by the physicians.

Three Georgia medical professionals sentenced for distributing ‘massive quantities’ of controlled substances from ‘pill mill’ over four years.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

New York retail pharmacy employee who stole oxycodone was previously terminated for stealing Vicodin, then rehired.

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Iowa nursing home director faces felony charge of taking 27 Hydrocodone pills from a resident.

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A 49-year-old Davenport, Iowa woman faces a felony charge of taking drugs from a nursing-home patient, according to arrest affidavits filed in the case. The former nursing home director faces a charge of prohibited acts – first offense – Schedule I, II, III controlled substance, court records say. She is accused of drug diversion, an affidavit says. An affidavit on file in Scott County Court is signed by an investigator for the State of Iowa, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit – Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals. The affidavit alleges the director, on or about July 15, 2022 to Aug. 8, 2022, obtained or tried to obtain a prescription drug by “engaging in fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge. While she was working there, she diverted 27 Hydrocodone pills from a resident, the investigator alleges in the affidavit. Hydrocodone is a powerful opioid used to relieve severe ongoing pain.

Alabama physician pleads guilty to conspiring to unlawfully distribute oxycodone. Eleven others in five states plead guilty for their roles in the scheme.

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On July 26, 2022, Maurice Daughtry, 38, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced to 130 months in prison for his role as one of the organizers of a conspiracy to illegally distribute oxycodone, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. According to Daughtry’s plea agreement and other court records, Daughtry entered into an agreement with co-conspirator, D’Livro Lemat Beauchamp, to obtain illegitimate prescriptions for oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance. At the time the conspiracy began, Beauchamp was a physician operating a medical practice in Montgomery, Alabama. Per their agreement, Dr. Beauchamp would sign oxycodone prescriptions made out to either Daughtry or one of his other co-conspirators. The co-conspirators would pay Dr. Beauchamp $350 per prescription. Once Dr. Beauchamp signed the prescriptions, the individuals named on the prescriptions—including Daughtry—would have them filled at local pharmacies. Daughtry would then collect pills from the co-conspirators, paying each one between $100 and $250 per prescription. Daughtry would then illegally distribute the oxycodone pills he obtained. Daughtry’s plea agreement indicates that he first received a prescription from Beauchamp as part of the scheme in August of 2012. Thereafter, Daughtry received prescriptions for 90 30-milligram oxycodone tablets approximately once a month. Daughtry specifically admitted during his plea hearing to receiving and filling 54 prescriptions representing a total of 145,800 milligrams of the drug. Documents indicate that the conspiracy continued until April of 2020 and involved numerous co-conspirators, some of whom were operating at Daughtry’s direction. Eleven people have pleaded guilty to charges related to distributing oxycodone involving the physician. The suspects appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to possess oxycodone with intent to distribute unlawfully and for illegally distributing the prescription drug.

Joseph Anthony Coleman, 37, of Montgomery, Alabama
Kambria Symone Robinson, 29, of Atlanta, Georgia
Rubin Sanders, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia
Towanna Lorrell Chapman, 36, of Montgomery, Alabama
Jamal Anthony Thomas, 37, of Montgomery, Alabama
Maurice Daughtry, 38, of Marietta, Georgia
Melodie Donne Armer Cheatham, 38, of Savannah, Georgia
Carlos D’Angelo Jones, 34, of Memphis, Tennessee
Garren Charles Rogers, 35, of Houston, Texas
Geniece Chadell Maxon, 33, of Lynwood, Illinois
Robert Lee Thompson, 32, of Madison, Alabama

Philadelphia physician agrees to pay nearly $490,000 for Controlled Substances Act violations, like writing prescriptions “for stock.”

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced on November 14, 2022, that Kenneth Fox, D.O., has agreed to pay $489,025 to resolve allegations that he violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by failing to maintain complete and accurate records of controlled substances, failing to keep required receipt and dispensing records, failing to perform biennial inventories, and writing prescriptions “for stock.” The United States’ investigation involved Fox’s practice located at 1310 Frosty Hollow Road, Levittown, PA 19056. As part of the settlement, Fox has entered into a three-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which includes additional responsibilities regarding the handling of controlled substances. The MOA imposes compliance obligations significantly more stringent than those in the applicable laws and regulations. Fox prescribes and administers phentermine, a Schedule IV controlled substance, and suboxone, a Schedule III controlled substance. In February 2013, DEA Investigators discovered that Fox allegedly failed to conduct a biennial inventory, failed to maintain records for receipt and dispensing of controlled substances, and failed to keep controlled substances secure – all in violation of applicable regulations and statutes. In April 2013, the DEA issued a Letter of Admonition to Fox, who agreed to correct his conduct thenceforth. Nine years later, the DEA performed another scheduled on-site inspection of Fox’s facility. During this inspection, Investigators discovered that Fox continued the same violations as before, and in addition, was prescribing controlled substances “for stock” in violation of the applicable regulations. On the date of inspection, Fox allegedly produced non-compliant and incomplete dispensing records, and no records of biennial inventory, or invoices/receipts for controlled substances. The Investigators obtained records of Fox’s prescriptions “for stock” from a local retail pharmacy. Physicians are prohibited from obtaining controlled substances for the purpose of general dispensing to patients; they must comply with the requirements for a valid prescription, including the date, patient’s name and address, drug name and strength, dosage form, quantity prescribed, directions for use, and the physician/registrant’s name, address, and registration number. The prescription requirement is one of the ways in which controlled substances are tracked to prevent diversion and abuse. The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Arkansas nurse voluntarily surrenders license after video surveillance at a nursing and rehabilitation home catches multiple instances of drug diversion.

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former nurse at a Hot Springs nursing home is accused of stealing medication from residents in October and falsifying records indicating she had given the drugs, authorities said. The nurse was arrested Dec. 20 at the Hot Springs Police Department and charged with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. She was later released on $3,500 bond and is set to appear in Garland County District Court. At the time of her arrest, the nurse indicated she was unemployed, but she reportedly worked at Lakewood Therapy and Living Center, 260 Lakepark Drive, when the alleged fraud occurred. According to a probable cause affidavit, the administrator at Lakewood filed a report with police on Oct. 10 after reviewing video surveillance footage at the center following a complaint by a resident about some missing Nexium pills. In viewing the footage, he reportedly saw a nurse, identified as the nurse, removing a hydrocodone pill from the medication cart shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 and placing it in her mouth, the affidavit said. The administrator counted the pills in the cart and compared it to the entries made by the nurse in the prescription log book. He then spoke to the residents the nurse had indicated received their pain medication and found two residents who had not received any medication, authorities said. One patient told him the nurse had refused to give her any hydrocodone at the prescribed time but instead gave her a Tylenol pill, according to the affidavit. The administrator noted he has video evidence of 17 "pill diversions" by the nurse and is still reviewing the footage to compile more evidence, police noted.

Denver nurse sentenced after pleading guilty to stealing fentanyl from ICU patients by falsely identifying drugs as “waste” to be discarded.

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced on November 1, 2022, that Alejandro Gort, 39, of Denver, was sentenced to five years of probation after he earlier pleaded guilty to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deception. According to the plea agreement, the defendant worked the night shift at a Denver hospital on March 3, 2021. He was assigned to care for a critically ill patient admitted to the Sick and Intensive Care Unit following emergency surgery for a head injury. The patient was comatose and intubated when Mr. Gort was assigned to care for him. The defendant initiated a fentanyl drip to treat the patient’s pain, but stole the majority of the bag of fentanyl for his own use, concealing his crime by lowering the drip rate on the IV pump and failing to accurately document the flow rate in the patient’s medical record. He then used this fentanyl at the hospital during his shift. Later during the same shift, the defendant drained a second bag of fentanyl hung for the patient into a cup, then filled the bag with saline to facilitate and conceal the theft. The defendant intended to take the cup of fentanyl for his personal use, but hospital staff interrupted him and escorted him out of the building. According to other staff members, the defendant’s drug use affected his behavior and clinical judgments. There is no evidence that the patient was harmed by the defendant’s act of illegally obtaining the fentanyl. The defendant participated in a voluntary interview with law enforcement agents on March 11, 2021. During that interview, the defendant admitted that he diverted drugs from the hospital between late 2020 and the date the hospital confronted him. He stated he usually obtained fentanyl by falsely identifying the drug as “waste” that was to be discarded, but he kept the drugs for his personal use. He also admitted to using saline to waste fentanyl bags after diverting the fentanyl. The defendant stated he used the drugs at work.

Pharmacists sentenced to prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution to the state for illegally dispensing controlled narcotics in a "pill mill" scheme.

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

illegally dispensing controlled narcotics to customers of the AMARC “pill mill” pain clinic. See also: https://gdna.georgia.gov/press-releases/2017-04-28/emergency-suspensions-served-pharmacist-and-pharmacy-license

Physician found guilty of prescribing controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose after complaints about a pill mill and patient overdose.

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A federal jury convicted a Texarkana Doctor on two counts of Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription and two counts of Distribution of a Schedule V Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Little Rock District Office (LRDO), Tactical Diversion and Diversion Groups initiated an investigation into Dr. Lonnie Joseph Parker, age 58, of Texarkana, Arkansas in 2018 after receiving complaints from local law enforcement about a suspected pill mill and possible overdose death of a patient. Investigators analyzed prescription drug monitoring data attributed to Dr. Parker, and the investigation revealed Dr. Parker was an over-prescriber of controlled substances, to include opioids, benzodiazepines, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup in the Texarkana area. In the two-year period analyzed, Dr. Parker prescribed approximately 1.2 million dosage units of opioid pain medications, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl, to approximately 1,508 patients (approximately 847 dosage units per patient). Dr. Parker also prescribed approximately 16 gallons of Promethazine with Codeine cough syrup to approximately 29 patients during the same time frame. The prescriptions included narcotics written in combination with sedatives, creating a high risk of addiction and overdose to patients. Parker is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He also faces a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.

Florida nurse at assisted living facility resigns, license suspended after Ativan, oxycodone, and hydrocodone goes missing.

Sun, 30 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Missing drugs at medical facilities, criminal charges and driving to a substance-abuse evaluation while drunk led to a Santa Rosa County licensed practical nurse getting disciplined, the Florida Department of Health said in the restriction order issued Sept. 8, 2020 and starts with missing drugs at Gulf Breeze Courtyard. Despite staff noticing that patients who didn’t normally ask for pain medication requested it during Scott’s shift, he was promoted from floor nurse to resident care director on Sept. 15, 2019. With the new job and title came the only key to the overflow medication cart. Scott resigned Oct. 6, the day after an argument with a supervisor got him suspended. He refused to return the key to the cart. After a locksmith did his work the next day, a count determined 73 Ativan tablets, 25 ml of liquid oxycodone and five hydrocodone tablets were missing. As Gulf Breeze Courtyard learned of missing drugs, Scott started work as a floor nurse at assisted living facility The Beacon, also in Gulf Breeze. The order says The Beacon staff noticed the same suspicious pattern of drug distribution noticed at Gulf Breeze Courtyard. An administrator requested all the nurses undergo drug testing. Scott decided to resign on Dec. 10, 2019. Reeves gave the aforementioned analysis and diagnosed several alcohol-use disorder. Among Scott’s possible other problems were substance use disorder, personality disorder and other mental health issues. Reeves recommended a treatment program that’s at least partially inpatient, a full psychological evaluation and monitoring by the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN). As Scott hasn’t undergone the treatment, he’s restricted from practicing nursing until IPN or an IPN-approved evaluator lets the Department of Health know he’s safe to be a nurse again.

Maine osteopathic doctor arrested for alleged illegal distribution of oxycodone and other controlled substances.

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Maine doctor was arrested October 26, 2022, in Kennebunk Maine, on criminal charges related to her alleged illegal distribution of opioids and other controlled substances. According to court documents, the doctor allegedly prescribed opioids, and other controlled substances, outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. Due to her dangerous prescribing, as a condition of her release, the doctor cannot prescribe any Schedule II-V controlled substances. The doctor is charged in an indictment with 10 counts of illegal distribution of opioids and other controlled substances. The defendant made her initial court appearance on Oct. 26. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the top counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Osteopathic physician pleads guilty to illegally prescribing Xanax without doctor-patient relationships and without a DEA registration number.

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

An osteopathic physician from Collinsville, Illinois, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Tuesday and admitted illegally prescribing an anti-anxiety drug. Matthew Steven Miller, 43, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White to one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of making a false statement concerning a health care matter. Miller admitted illegally writing prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax for six people between 2016 and 2018. He did not have a doctor-patient relationship with them, had not examined them, had not determined that they needed the drug and did not document the prescriptions, his plea agreement says. On some occasions, they sold the drugs and split the money with Miller, his plea says. Miller wrote the prescriptions despite not being licensed by Missouri’s Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and lacking a Drug Enforcement Administration registration number necessary to do so. Miller was licensed to practice medicine in Missouri, Michigan and New Jersey. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General and the South Central Drug Task Force.

Missouri paramedic with two ambulance districts pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing painkilling drugs and replacing the vials with water.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former paramedic with two Northwest Missouri ambulance districts pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to stealing painkilling drugs and replacing the vials with water.

Joseph L. Comstock, 31, of Bethany, Missouri, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to federal information that charges him with three counts of tampering with a consumer product (fentanyl and morphine) with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury, and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk.

Comstock admitted that he emptied vials of morphine and fentanyl, taking them for his own personal use and replacing the painkilling drugs with sterilized water. Comstock tampered with the drug vials while working at both the NTA Ambulance District in Bethany and the Community Ambulance District of Daviess County in Gallatin, Missouri, in 2014 and 2015.

Comstock admitted there were at least two occasions where he personally treated patients with drugs he knew he had tampered with. These patients were both hip fracture patients who were supposed to receive fentanyl but instead received sterile water that Comstock had replaced in the vial.

He started tampering with drugs in March 2014, following a medical procedure to remove his tonsils. He accessed drugs on ambulances and was able to bend up the lid of the plastic boxes and dump out the drugs. He obtained both fentanyl and morphine from ambulances and replaced the drugs with sterile water.

Federal officials were notified on March 4, 2015, of possible drug tampering at the NTA Ambulance District in Bethany.

Federal agents installed surveillance equipment at the Bethany NTA building on March 18, 2015. Comstock was recorded on the surveillance video as he stole morphine from the ambulance on two separate occasions.

Comstock also admitted that he tampered with drugs when he visited the Gallatin ambulance building on Feb. 24, 2015. An employee found Comstock (who had stopped working at the Gallatin ambulance company in June 2014) inside the building. Comstock explained he had come by the Gallatin facility to use the treadmill. Later that same day, the employee went on a service call and treated a man suffering from leg pain with 100 mcg of fentanyl.

However, the man did not receive any pain relief. When the employee returned, he examined the narcotics cabinet and found several fentanyl vials with loose caps, as well as morphine that appeared to have been tampered with.

12,000 exposed to Hepatitis C in seven states after stealing fentanyl and refilling syringes with saline to be later injected into patients.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The vast majority of health care professionals are dedicated individuals committed to their patients. But in a recent investigation, we came across a hospital worker who was more committed to his own selfish needs than to his patients—he knowingly put patients at risk of exposure to the hepatitis C virus so he could steal and abuse a powerful narcotic prescribed for use during medical procedures. David Kwiatkowski—who pled guilty to a scheme to divert and obtain the controlled substance fentanyl as well as to product tampering—was sentenced earlier this month to 39 years in prison. Because of Kwiatowski’s actions, at least 45 people became infected with hepatitis C, a virus that attacks the liver and may cause liver damage, liver failure, or cancer. At least one patient died as a result of the infection. You see, Kwiatkowski himself was infected with hepatitis C. And he admitted that while employed at a New Hampshire hospital and at hospitals in several other states, he stole syringes of fentanyl prepared for patients about to undergo medical procedures, injected himself with the drug, and refilled those same syringes with saline—tainting them with his hepatitis C-positive blood—for use on unsuspecting victims. As a trained health care worker, Kwiatkowski would have known that hepatitis C, a blood-borne viral disease, is primarily transmitted by exposure to infected blood. How the case began. In May 2012, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services began a public health investigation after it was notified by an area hospital of four patients newly diagnosed with hepatitis C. Three of the individuals had been patients in the hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (CCL), while the fourth was a CCL employee (Kwiatkowski). Although Kwiatkowski led the hospital to believe he had been previously unaware of his hepatitis C status, the investigation showed that he had known of his infection since at least 2010. Testing confirmed that all four shared a genetically similar virus, indicating a common source of infection. Because Kwiatkowski had previously worked as a traveling technician in multiple hospitals in several states, the information about his activities was shared with those states, which began their own reviews. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coordinated the overall public health investigation, which ruled out other possible methods of transmission and suspected that a drug diversion scheme was the source of the outbreak. During their investigation, public health authorities recommended that more than 12,000 people who may have crossed paths with Kwiatkowski in various hospitals get tested for possible hepatitis C infection. In June 2012, the FBI’s Boston Field Office opened a full criminal investigation into the outbreak…and into Kwiatkowsi. The investigation involved several search warrants and included a search of Kwiatkowski’s vehicle that uncovered needles and syringes. Working with public health agencies along with other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we gathered evidence and interviewed dozens of people who either worked with Kwiatkowski or were patients at hospitals that employed him. By July 2012, we were able to arrest him. According to New Hampshire U.S. Attorney John Kacavas, the 39-year sentence imposed on Kwiatkowski “ensures that this serial infector will no longer be in a position to harm innocent and vulnerable people, extinguishing once and for all the pernicious threat he posed to public health and safety.”

Kwiatkowsi’s Victims

In addition to one patient whose death was linked to the hepatitis C infection, other individuals infected with Kwiatkowski’s strain of hepatitis C included:

A Marine veteran over the age of 50 who, as a result of his infection, has experienced pain, sleeping and weight loss problems, and trouble controlling his diabetes. He has also been unable to travel, something he used to do extensively for his job.
A male over the age of 70 who has substantial health problems, had to have major surgery, and whose health continues to deteriorate.
A Navy veteran over the age of 80 with serious health problems, including severe fatigue. He is so fearful of transmitting the hepatitis C virus that he won’t kiss his wife.
A retiree over the age of 60 who has experienced fatigue and so much stress that she has had to seek counseling.
An Army veteran over the age of 40 who suffers from fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and emotional issues.
A male over the age of 50 whose health issues are so severe he has been unable to return to work.

12,000 exposed to Hepatitis C in seven states after stealing fentanyl and refilling syringes with saline to be later injected into patients.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Kwiatkowsi’s Victims

In addition to one patient whose death was linked to the hepatitis C infection, other individuals infected with Kwiatkowski’s strain of hepatitis C included:

A Marine veteran over the age of 50 who, as a result of his infection, has experienced pain, sleeping and weight loss problems, and trouble controlling his diabetes. He has also been unable to travel, something he used to do extensively for his job.
A male over the age of 70 who has substantial health problems, had to have major surgery, and whose health continues to deteriorate.
A Navy veteran over the age of 80 with serious health problems, including severe fatigue. He is so fearful of transmitting the hepatitis C virus that he won’t kiss his wife.
A retiree over the age of 60 who has experienced fatigue and so much stress that she has had to seek counseling.
An Army veteran over the age of 40 who suffers from fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and emotional issues.
A male over the age of 50 whose health issues are so severe he has been unable to return to work.

12,000 exposed to Hepatitis C in seven states after stealing fentanyl and refilling syringes with saline to be later injected into patients.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Kwiatkowsi’s Victims

In addition to one patient whose death was linked to the hepatitis C infection, other individuals infected with Kwiatkowski’s strain of hepatitis C included:

A Marine veteran over the age of 50 who, as a result of his infection, has experienced pain, sleeping and weight loss problems, and trouble controlling his diabetes. He has also been unable to travel, something he used to do extensively for his job.
A male over the age of 70 who has substantial health problems, had to have major surgery, and whose health continues to deteriorate.
A Navy veteran over the age of 80 with serious health problems, including severe fatigue. He is so fearful of transmitting the hepatitis C virus that he won’t kiss his wife.
A retiree over the age of 60 who has experienced fatigue and so much stress that she has had to seek counseling.
An Army veteran over the age of 40 who suffers from fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and emotional issues.
A male over the age of 50 whose health issues are so severe he has been unable to return to work.

12,000 exposed to Hepatitis C in seven states after stealing fentanyl and refilling syringes with saline to be later injected into patients.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Kwiatkowsi’s Victims

In addition to one patient whose death was linked to the hepatitis C infection, other individuals infected with Kwiatkowski’s strain of hepatitis C included:

A Marine veteran over the age of 50 who, as a result of his infection, has experienced pain, sleeping and weight loss problems, and trouble controlling his diabetes. He has also been unable to travel, something he used to do extensively for his job.
A male over the age of 70 who has substantial health problems, had to have major surgery, and whose health continues to deteriorate.
A Navy veteran over the age of 80 with serious health problems, including severe fatigue. He is so fearful of transmitting the hepatitis C virus that he won’t kiss his wife.
A retiree over the age of 60 who has experienced fatigue and so much stress that she has had to seek counseling.
An Army veteran over the age of 40 who suffers from fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and emotional issues.
A male over the age of 50 whose health issues are so severe he has been unable to return to work.

12,000 exposed to Hepatitis C in seven states after stealing fentanyl and refilling syringes with saline to be later injected into patients.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Kwiatkowsi’s Victims

In addition to one patient whose death was linked to the hepatitis C infection, other individuals infected with Kwiatkowski’s strain of hepatitis C included:

A Marine veteran over the age of 50 who, as a result of his infection, has experienced pain, sleeping and weight loss problems, and trouble controlling his diabetes. He has also been unable to travel, something he used to do extensively for his job.
A male over the age of 70 who has substantial health problems, had to have major surgery, and whose health continues to deteriorate.
A Navy veteran over the age of 80 with serious health problems, including severe fatigue. He is so fearful of transmitting the hepatitis C virus that he won’t kiss his wife.
A retiree over the age of 60 who has experienced fatigue and so much stress that she has had to seek counseling.
An Army veteran over the age of 40 who suffers from fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and emotional issues.
A male over the age of 50 whose health issues are so severe he has been unable to return to work.

12,000 exposed to Hepatitis C in seven states after stealing fentanyl and refilling syringes with saline to be later injected into patients.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Kwiatkowsi’s Victims

In addition to one patient whose death was linked to the hepatitis C infection, other individuals infected with Kwiatkowski’s strain of hepatitis C included:

A Marine veteran over the age of 50 who, as a result of his infection, has experienced pain, sleeping and weight loss problems, and trouble controlling his diabetes. He has also been unable to travel, something he used to do extensively for his job.
A male over the age of 70 who has substantial health problems, had to have major surgery, and whose health continues to deteriorate.
A Navy veteran over the age of 80 with serious health problems, including severe fatigue. He is so fearful of transmitting the hepatitis C virus that he won’t kiss his wife.
A retiree over the age of 60 who has experienced fatigue and so much stress that she has had to seek counseling.
An Army veteran over the age of 40 who suffers from fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and emotional issues.
A male over the age of 50 whose health issues are so severe he has been unable to return to work.

Two Houston pharmacists face charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that targeted elderly citizens using telemarketing and mail.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two Houston area men face new charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that that targeted elderly citizens.

Mohamed Mokbel, 57, and Fathy Elsafty, 63, both of Houston, are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho today at 2 p.m.

The 18-count superseding indictment, returned July 20, alleges that from 2013 to January 2022, Mokbel and ElSafty conspired to commit a $150 million mail fraud and health care fraud scheme and engaged in money laundering with the fraud proceeds. Mokbel is also alleged to have continued the fraud scheme at MK Pharmacy, a Houston area pharmacy, from April 2021 through January 2022. During this time, he had been permitted release on bond after the return of the original indictment in March 2021.

Mokbel was the CEO of 4M Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to the charges. With ElSafty’s assistance, he allegedly acquired and controlled over a dozen pharmacies that operated in Houston and elsewhere. The indictment alleges Elsafty served as 4M’s accountant and tax preparer and had ownership interests in several pharmacies located in California, Texas and Florida. ElSafty allegedly aided Mokbel by falsifying corporate filings and concealing Mokbel’s involvement in the pharmacies.

The fraud was pervasive and carried out using a sophisticated mass marketing scheme targeting individuals over the age of 55 using telemarketing and mail, according to the charges. Mokbel is alleged to have purchased patient data and directed 4M Pharmaceuticals’ employees to submit test claims to patient insurance plans to determine insurance coverage.

4M then allegedly sent prescription fax requests to doctors’ offices on behalf of the patients without their knowledge or consent. In some cases, 4M requested prescriptions for patients who had been dead for months, if not years, according to the allegations.

Company employees then allegedly called patients to report their doctor had approved prescriptions for them and that they would receive the medications at no cost. However, Medicare and other insurance plans often required a copay which 4M did not collect, according to the charges. When audited, 4M allegedly falsified proof of the copay collection.

Mokbel and ElSafty are charged with one count of a conspiracy to commit mail and health care fraud, two counts of health care fraud and 15 counts of money laundering.

If convicted of the conspiracy, they face up to 20 years in prison, while the health care violations carry a 10-year-term. Money laundering also carries a potential 10-year sentence. The use of telemarketing to target people over 55 as a means to commit mail fraud and health care fraud carries an additional penalty of 10 years. Fines could also be assessed in the amounts of $250,000 or not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction.

Two Houston pharmacists face charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that targeted elderly citizens using telemarketing and mail.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two Houston area men face new charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that that targeted elderly citizens.

Mohamed Mokbel, 57, and Fathy Elsafty, 63, both of Houston, are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho today at 2 p.m.

Mokbel and ElSafty are charged with one count of a conspiracy to commit mail and health care fraud, two counts of health care fraud and 15 counts of money laundering.

Two Houston pharmacists face charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that targeted elderly citizens using telemarketing and mail.

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two Houston area men face new charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that that targeted elderly citizens. Mohamed Mokbel, 57, and Fathy Elsafty, 63, both of Houston, are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho today at 2 p.m. The 18-count superseding indictment, returned July 20, alleges that from 2013 to January 2022, Mokbel and ElSafty conspired to commit a $150 million mail fraud and health care fraud scheme and engaged in money laundering with the fraud proceeds. Mokbel is also alleged to have continued the fraud scheme at MK Pharmacy, a Houston area pharmacy, from April 2021 through January 2022. During this time, he had been permitted release on bond after the return of the original indictment in March 2021. Mokbel was the CEO of 4M Pharmaceuticals Inc., according to the charges. With ElSafty’s assistance, he allegedly acquired and controlled over a dozen pharmacies that operated in Houston and elsewhere. The indictment alleges Elsafty served as 4M’s accountant and tax preparer and had ownership interests in several pharmacies located in California, Texas and Florida. ElSafty allegedly aided Mokbel by falsifying corporate filings and concealing Mokbel’s involvement in the pharmacies. The fraud was pervasive and carried out using a sophisticated mass marketing scheme targeting individuals over the age of 55 using telemarketing and mail, according to the charges. Mokbel is alleged to have purchased patient data and directed 4M Pharmaceuticals’ employees to submit test claims to patient insurance plans to determine insurance coverage. 4M then allegedly sent prescription fax requests to doctors’ offices on behalf of the patients without their knowledge or consent. In some cases, 4M requested prescriptions for patients who had been dead for months, if not years, according to the allegations. Company employees then allegedly called patients to report their doctor had approved prescriptions for them and that they would receive the medications at no cost. However, Medicare and other insurance plans often required a copay which 4M did not collect, according to the charges. When audited, 4M allegedly falsified proof of the copay collection. Mokbel and ElSafty are charged with one count of a conspiracy to commit mail and health care fraud, two counts of health care fraud and 15 counts of money laundering. If convicted of the conspiracy, they face up to 20 years in prison, while the health care violations carry a 10-year-term. Money laundering also carries a potential 10-year sentence. The use of telemarketing to target people over 55 as a means to commit mail fraud and health care fraud carries an additional penalty of 10 years. Fines could also be assessed in the amounts of $250,000 or not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction.

Physician convicted on 30 charges related to unlawful distribution of Oxycontin, Oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, and Xanax at two medical clinics.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Bingham Farms physician David Jankowski, 62, was convicted on July 11, 2022, by a federal jury in Detroit on thirty charges related to the unlawful distribution of Schedule II, III and IV controlled substances and health care fraud, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. The charges on which he was convicted stemmed from Jankowski’s operation of Summit Medical Group, a purported medical clinic formerly located in Dearborn Heights and Southfield, MI. According to the evidence presented at trial, Dr. Jankowski wrote medically unnecessary prescriptions for controlled substances such as Oxycontin, Oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, and Xanax. He also prescribed controlled substances after receiving cash from patient recruiters who brought patients to his practice. The evidence demonstrated that Jankowski issued or authorized the issuance of more than 1.7 million Schedule II controlled substances to individuals outside the course of professional medical practice and for no legitimate medical purpose in exchange for compensation. As part of this scheme, Dr. Jankowski also issued or authorized the issuance more than 800,000 Schedule III controlled substances and more than 870,00 Schedule IV controlled substances. The evidence also showed that Jankowski used his access to controlled substances to lure patients into his health care fraud scheme. Patients were attracted to his practice by the easy access to controlled substances. Many of these patients had no need for the drugs. Instead, the controlled substances were sold on the streets to feed the addictions of opioid addicts. Trial testimony and exhibits showed that Jankowski then submitted false and fraudulent insurance claims asserting that he had provided necessary treatment to these patients. The claims were submitted to Michigan auto insurance companies, private health care insurers, Medicare and Medicaid. Based upon these fraudulent claims, Dr. Jankowski received more than $29.3 million from the auto and private insurance companies and more than $6 million from Medicare and Medicaid. Dr. Jankowski was convicted of thirty of the thirty-two counts with which he was charged and faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

Pharmacist and pharmacy owner sentenced to prison for unlawfully dispensing opioids and other controlled substances using fake prescriptions.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Three Texas men have been sentenced for illegally dispensing opioids and other controlled substances. Hassan Barnes, 56, a pharmacist formerly of Missouri City, was sentenced on July 8, 2022, to 24 months in prison for unlawfully dispensing opioids and other controlled substances. Clint Carr, 33, a pharmacy owner formerly of Cypress, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on June 24 and ordered to forfeit more than $700,000 for operating a pharmacy that illegally dispensed controlled substances and for laundering the criminal proceeds. Frasiel Hughey, 60, a supplier-level drug dealer formerly of Houston, was sentenced on June 23 to 20 years in prison for using fake prescriptions to purchase opioids and other controlled substances. A jury convicted Carr in March of drug and money laundering conspiracies, along with other related charges. According to evidence presented at trial, Carr co-owned and operated CC Pharmacy in Houston, and CC Pharmacy 2 and CC Pharmacy 3 in the Austin area. Barnes was CC Pharmacy’s pharmacist-in-charge. In just 18 months, Carr, Barnes, and their co-conspirators unlawfully distributed over 1.5 million dosage units of controlled substances, including over 1.1 million pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone. Trial evidence showed that CC Pharmacy unlawfully dispensed controlled substances — mostly oxycodone and hydrocodone — in bulk, for cash, based mostly on forged or stolen prescriptions brought in by drug couriers posing as staff of long-term care facilities. CC Pharmacy brought in over $5.5 million from the unlawful sale of these controlled substances, cash proceeds which Carr and his co-conspirators structured to avoid reporting requirements. Evidence at trial showed that Carr used these drug proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including the purchase of luxury watches and the down payment on a $100,000 Ford pickup truck. Carr was convicted following a five-day trial on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances, unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Barnes pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances. Hughey pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances.

Pharmacist and pharmacy owner sentenced to prison for unlawfully dispensing opioids and other controlled substances using fake prescriptions.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Gynecologist, licensed pharmacist, and co-conspirators plead guilty for roles in operating a pill mill network in Atlanta.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Anthony Mills, a former Atlanta gynecologist, and Raphael Ogunsusi, a licensed pharmacist who owned two pharmacies, pleaded guilty for their roles in operating an Atlanta-area “pill mill” network that supplied addicts and drug dealers with large amounts of dangerous prescription drugs through illegal prescribing and dispensing. “Mills and Ogunsusi are now admitted drug dealers who violated the public’s trust by engaging in black-market sales of staggering amounts of dangerous opioid pills,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “With opioid overdoses continuing to rise in Georgia, our office will continue to devote resources to prosecuting licensed professionals who fuel rather than help to stem the opioid epidemic.” “The dispensing of addictive prescription pain medication under the guise of a doctor’s care isn’t about the good of the community or an individual’s specific health needs – it’s about greed,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Atlanta Field Division. “Individuals like these defendants who operated a ‘pill mill’ are nothing more than drug dealers who are licensed to wear white coats and carry stethoscopes. They will now face the consequences for their criminal actions.” “These pleas should serve as a warning to any medical professional considering exploiting their patients for profit: you will be caught, you will be prosecuted, and you will pay a steep price,” said Lisa Fontanette, Assistant Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “IRS-CI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring those seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of their patients, to justice.” According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Anthony Mills was a medical doctor licensed to practice medicine in the State of Georgia since 1997, and whose specialty was listed with the medical board as “Gynecology.” Since at least October 2018, Mills operated a “pill mill” out of his personal residence, where he issued prescriptions for controlled substances (such as large quantities of oxycodone) to drug addicts and drug dealing “sponsors” in exchange for cash payments. Mills did not obtain necessary prior medical records of his “patients,” conduct physical exams, or do anything to establish a valid patient-physician relationship. Instead, he issued prescriptions in the names of individuals he never met or evaluated. Some of the prescriptions that Mills issued were in the names of individuals whose identities had been stolen and others who were incarcerated or deceased at the time Mills wrote the prescriptions. A large percentage of the illegitimate prescriptions written by Mills to drug-dealing sponsors were filled by licensed pharmacist Raphael Ogunsusi through his pharmacies, Evansmill Pharmacy and Retox Pharmacy. Ogunsusi knew that Mills operated a pill mill out of his home, and that Mills prescribed in excess of medically appropriate dosages and combinations of controlled substances. But Ogunsusi nonetheless dispensed controlled substances pursuant to prescriptions issued by Mills and others, which Ogunsusi knew were issued without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. Ogunsusi accepted large cash payments in exchange for filling these illegal prescriptions, including as much as $900 to fill just one prescription for oxycodone and $500 to fill one prescription for Percocet. Ogunsusi knew these prices were well above the market value for legitimate prescriptions. To disguise the significantly inflated prices that he was charging to dispense illegal controlled substance prescriptions, Ogunsusi falsified, and directed others to falsify, the pricing information on his pharmacy computers to give the appearance that he had charged market prices for the controlled substance prescriptions. Ogunsusi also required sponsors to purchase a battery of additional non-controlled substances, which he referred to as the “Shebang,” as a condition for filling illegal controlled substance prescriptions. The purpose of these non-controlled substances was to maximize profits for his illegal dispensing. Ogunsusi also directed his pharmacy employees, including another licensed pharmacist, to dispense the illegal prescriptions. Ogunsusi also pled guilty to money laundering based upon his purchase of an airplane using the proceeds of his illegal drug dispensing and distribution. In addition to Mills and Ogunusi, pharmacist Moses Kirigwi, as well as sponsors Brittany Tinker and Keandre Bates, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Mills and Ogunsusi. Criminal charges remain pending against eight additional defendants.

Owner and pharmacist-in-charge of two California pharmacies submitted claims to Medicaid and Medicare for prescription drugs later sold on the black market.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A federal jury convicted a California woman on Oct. 14, 2022 for a health care fraud and prescription drug diversion scheme involving two Southern California pharmacies. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Irina Sadovsky, 53, of Calabasas, the owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Five Star RX doing business as Five Star Pharmacy (Five Star Pharmacy) and Ultimate Pharmacy Inc. (Ultimate Pharmacy), engaged in a health care fraud and black market prescription drug diversion conspiracy that began in or around September 2016, and continued through in or around April 2017. Sadovsky submitted claims to Medicaid of California (Medi-Cal) and Medicare for prescription drugs that were never dispensed to beneficiaries but rather were provided to co-conspirators to sell on the black market. Sadovsky’s co-conspirators created fraudulent prescriptions, either by writing the prescriptions themselves or by paying kickbacks to marketers with access to patients and prescribers. Sadovsky recommended the combinations of prescription drugs to be written, checked the eligibility of the patients for reimbursement, and fraudulently submitted claims to Medi-Cal and Medicare. Sadovsky was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to engage in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 3, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the health care fraud conspiracy, and five years in prison for the unlicensed distribution conspiracy. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, M.T. (name redacted by request), Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. M.T. (name redacted by request), Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

Florida federal prison nurse faces charges that he accepted bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband, including illegal drugs, to inmates.

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse working for a federal prison has made his first appearance in federal court to face charges that he accepted bribes in exchange for smuggling contraband, including illegal drugs, into the Federal Detention Center in Miami (FDC-Miami) and delivering it to inmates. The licensed registered nurse has worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons at FDC-Miami since February 2020. According to the criminal complaint unsealed on October 20, 2022, from November 2021 to August 2002, the nurse smuggled drug-laced legal documents and other prohibited items to inmates at FDC-Miami in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes and other things of value. It is alleged that the documents that the nurse delivered to inmates were sheets of paper that had been soaked in liquids containing illegal drugs, then dried. The inmates who received the laced paper from the nurse then resold it to other inmates at FDC-Miami, says the complaint. It is alleged that in addition to money, the nurse accepted other bribes, such as the free use of a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce. The criminal complaint charges the nurse with bribery, providing contraband in prison, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. His bond hearing is set for October 21 at 10:00 a.m. in federal duty magistrate court in Miami. If convicted, the nurse faces up to 45 years in prison.

A nursing assistant working at an assisted living facility faces charges after tampering with blister packs and opiates that had been replaced.

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two women accused of taking medication from patients while each was employed at separate care facilities were arrested last week and now face multiple charges. Officers working the case of one suspect learned of a second suspect who encountered police during an exchange in the parking lot of a care facility in St. George. The incident was initially reported on Oct. 11 when officers responded to a care facility in St. George after the staff contacted police reporting suspicious activity involving prescriptions administered to patients. Officers learned that a staff member advised management of several abnormalities found in two of the blister packs containing medications belonging to two elderly patients. According to the report, another staff member also noticed the same suspicious activity, wherein the medication originally housed in the blister pack reportedly was switched with another similar-looking medication. This led caregivers to believe the medication, an opiate, was stolen and replaced with non-opiate medication that resembled the original. The officer also noted that one of the medications used to replace the opiate was a blood pressure medication. Once they discovered the medications had been switched, they noted there was “a noticeable change in both patients” who said they were in pain and feeling tired. Both appeared “lethargic,” the officer wrote. One staff member told officers of a particular patient who did not respond well to the blood pressure medication used to replace the opiate, since the patient was not prescribed that type of medication. This “ultimately could have had a serious adverse reaction if gone unnoticed,” according to the report. Working with the pharmacy department, investigators learned that all of the suspicious activity was confined to a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Video footage showed the CNA taking a blister pack, which she allegedly concealed under her shirt, and using a long book to hide the activity during one instance. She then turned her back to the camera during the second incident, police allege. Investigators also could see the suspect making furtive movements that were purposefully out of the range of the camera. The blister packs also showed signs of being tampered with. A tiny incision was made on the back of the blister pack and the medication was removed and then replaced with a different medication. The incision was then taped back together with a small piece of clear tape. The footage also showed the suspect taking a clear tape dispenser from the med room area and then returning the tape a short time later. With the help of the pharmacy, the blister packs that appeared to be tampered with were analyzed to determine how many packs were compromised, as well as which medication the pills were replaced with. Pills had been removed in random order, and some were replaced with medications that had no markings, the report said. Officers also learned the replacement medications were for high blood pressure, a steroid and one that is used for hypotension and cardiovascular conditions – many of which can be found throughout the facility. The number of patients affected by the medication diversion crime was unknown, the report states, since it went beyond the two patients that had their pain medications taken. The facility also replaced all medications for those patients believed to have been affected and were monitoring the blister packs to ensure the patients were receiving the prescribed medications. Officers also learned there was video capturing the alleged theft of the new prescriptions containing opiates that had been replaced.

Texas nurse fired and arrested for stealing morphine from a hospice patient and replacing it with cranberry juice.

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Registered Nurse was arrested for reportedly stealing morphine from a hospice patient and replacing it with cranberry juice. According to the affidavit, on March 13, the Whitney Police Department was first called out to home because a the nurse had overdosed on morphine. Whitney PD then used Narcan on the nurse to reverse the effects. The nurse told police she got the morphine from her job as a registered nurse at Clifton Lutheran Sunset Ministries (CLSM), according to the affidavit. Whitney Police then contacted the Clifton Police Department the next day for assistance in the investigation. On March 29, the facility’s administrator, Lance Allen, called Clifton PD after he learned a former employee stole morphine from a patient and replaced it with cranberry juice, according to the affidavit. Allen identified that former employee as the nurse, who was fired from her job after they learned of what she did, the affidavit states. One witness told police that she was good friends with the nurse when she was working at the facility. She said during lunch, the nurse confessed to her that she was fired from a previous job because she stole medicine from a patient, according to the affidavit. The nurse reportedly told the witness she had done the same thing while working for CLSM. The witness continued to tell police that on March 11, The nurse intercepted a morphine prescription intended for a patient at the home, the affidavit states. She did so by offering to take the morphine to another wing, the affidavit continues. The witness said the nurse told her instead of taking the medication to the correct wing, she took them into her office and left them there while she went to the cafeteria and got cranberry juice, the affidavit continues. The nurse then took the cranberry juice to her office, emptied out the morphine from the syringes and replaced them with cranberry juice, according to the affidavit. She then took the cranberry juice-filled syringes to the nurses’ station. “It was later discovered that those syringes of cranberry juice were distributed to a patient… a hospice patient who is over 65 years of age. He is unable to speak and is prescribed Morphine to keep him comfortable during his time on hospice,” the affidavit states. Unknowingly, the nurses gave him four syringes of cranberry juice in four hours, per the affidavit. In response, “

Registered nurse in a South Dakota hospital tampered with fentanyl vials meant for patients and replaced them with another liquid.

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Lisa Merrigan, a former Registered Nurse, age 55, was convicted of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge, and was sentenced to two years of probation and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Merrigan was indicted by a federal grand jury in October of 2022. She pleaded guilty on July 5, 2023. The conviction stemmed from incidents between June 19, 2021, and September 11, 2021. Merrigan, worked as a registered nurse at a hospital in Chamberlain, South Dakota, during that time period. Merrigan tampered with a vial of fentanyl citrate for injection properly stored within the hospital, by removing the fentanyl citrate for injection from the vial and replacing the majority of it with saline solution. Merrigan then returned the tampered vial to storage, knowing that the diluted fentanyl citrate for injection could be dispensed to surgical patients at the hospital. Fentanyl citrate is a Schedule II controlled substance that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use to relieve severe pain during and after surgery. The fentanyl in the tampered vial was so diluted that had the vial been dispensed to a surgical patient, the pain management would have been minimal or unsuccessful.

South Dakota paramedic stole hundreds of vials of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone from two ambulance services he worked with.

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Rosebud, South Dakota, man convicted of Obtaining Controlled Substances by Deception was sentenced on August 2, 2021. Michael Brian Whirlwind Soldier, age 47, was sentenced to one month in federal prison, one year of supervised release, a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100, and restitution in the amount of $4,428.98 to the Rosebud Ambulance Service and Crow Creek Ambulance Service. Whirlwind Soldier was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 9, 2020. He pled guilty on August 2, 2021. The conviction stemmed from incidents that occurred between December 17, 2019, and July 28, 2020, in the District of South Dakota, wherein Whirlwind Soldier, while employed as a paramedic with the Rosebud and Crow Creek Ambulance Services, knowingly and intentionally stole hundreds of vials of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone from the ambulance services. Whirlwind Soldier consumed all of the substances he stole.

South Dakota paramedic stole hundreds of vials of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone from two ambulance services he worked with.

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Arkansas nurse with history of substance abuse loses license after pharmacy director found vials of Demerol that were tampered with.

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

After a hearing which occurred on August 11, 1993, on August 17, 1993 the Arkansas State Board of Nursing entered its Order suspending Susan Jayne Bohannon's nursing license in Arkansas. The Arkansas State Board of Nursing ordered that Susan Jayne Bohannon's nursing license in Arkansas be suspended for three years with conditions placed on reinstatement. The findings of fact made by the Board are not abstracted. Bohannon was charged with violating Ark.Code Ann. § 17-86-309(a)(4) and (6) as being "habitually intemperate or ... addicted to the use of habit forming drugs" and "guilty of unprofessional conduct" based upon the following: During but not limited to July 1992, while employed by Bates Memorial Hospital, Bentonville, Arkansas,

Louisville doctor accused of taking bribes and kickbacks from a compounding pharmacy in Florida, among dozens nailed with drug charges from a 7-state bust.

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Louisville doctor is among the dozens of medical professionals nailed with federal drug charges stemming from a seven-state opioid bust.

31 doctors, seven pharmacists, eight nurse practitioners and seven others who are owners, operators or clinic employees from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Alabama are involved in the bust, which officials said is the largest crackdown of its kind in United States history.

While speaking to media on Wednesday, members of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Strike Force said those involved handed out around 350,000 prescriptions, totaling more than 32 million pills.

A doctor with Bluegrass Pain Consultants in Louisville has been named in the conspiracy. He’s accused of taking bribes and kickbacks from Assured RX, LLC, a pharmaceutical company in Florida. Assured RX, headed by a pharmacist, produced compounded drug products that were prescribed by the doctor and other medical professionals at BPC, according to the doctor's indictment.

Specifically, BPC prescribed compounded creams for scars, pain and other ailments.

Bluegrass Pain Consultants was established by the doctor in April 2008, however the conspiracy with Assured RX didn’t begin until November 2014, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors believe the doctor accepted payments from Assured RX in exchange for prescribing compounded drugs to patients, many of whom were on Medicare and Tricare. Assured RX would then submit the claims, resulting in reimbursement.

The indictment says the conspiracy caused Tricare to pay Assured RX $41,611.35 for compounded drug products between November 2014 and July 2015. During that time, the indictment claims the pharmacist, on behalf of Assured RX, paid nearly $226,000 in bribes and kickbacks.

Three pharmacists, a doctor and patient recruiters charged in a $9.6 million illegal controlled substance distribution conspiracy.

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A Detroit-area pharmacist was convicted recently in federal court on one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and four substantive counts of unlawful distribution. According to a news report, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said Abiodun Fabode, 57, of Chesterfield Township, was convicted after a two-week trial. The conviction, one of Michigan’s largest drug diversion schemes in history, came about 18 months after Fabode and his co-conspirators — two pharmacists, one physician and two “patient recruiters” — were first arrested. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that between January 2015 and March 2018, Fabode, a co-owner and operator of Friendz Pharmacy in Detroit, dispensed more than 245,080 unit dosages of controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose. Fabode dispensed the opioids, including Oxycodone and Oxymorphone, in exchange for cash payments totaling more than $1.89 million, according to reports. The pills were then later resold on the street market by the pill dealers and carry a conservative estimated wholesale street value of $7 million. In the earlier press release issued May 2018, the Department of Justice detailed the steps Fabode and four other healthcare professionals took to issue and dispense prescription opioids for supposed patients who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs. Physician Deshikachar primarily prescribed oxycodone and oxymorphone. Then, the two patient recruiters, Niesheia Tibu and Andrei Tibu, would take the supposed patients to Precare Pharmacy, Global Health Pharmacy and Friendz Pharmacy, where pharmacists Amir Rafi and Fabode would dispense the drugs. The other co-defendants — Rafi, Deshikachar, and the Tibus — all pleaded guilty to the conspiracy late last year, according to report. They are currently awaiting sentencing for their roles in this opioid drug diversion scheme in the coming months.

Three pharmacists, a doctor and patient recruiters charged in a $9.6 million illegal controlled substance distribution conspiracy.

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Three pharmacists, a doctor and patient recruiters charged in a $9.6 million illegal controlled substance distribution conspiracy.

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Three pharmacists, a doctor and patient recruiters charged in a $9.6 million illegal controlled substance distribution conspiracy.

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A Detroit-area pharmacist was convicted recently in federal court on one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and four substantive counts of unlawful distribution. According to a news report, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said Abiodun Fabode, 57, of Chesterfield Township, was convicted after a two-week trial. The conviction, one of Michigan’s largest drug diversion schemes in history, came about 18 months after Fabode and his co-conspirators — two pharmacists, one physician and two “patient recruiters” — were first arrested. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that between January 2015 and March 2018, Fabode, a co-owner and operator of Friendz Pharmacy in Detroit, dispensed more than 245,080 unit dosages of controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose. Fabode dispensed the opioids, including Oxycodone and Oxymorphone, in exchange for cash payments totaling more than $1.89 million, according to reports. The pills were then later resold on the street market by the pill dealers and carry a conservative estimated wholesale street value of $7 million. In the earlier press release issued May 2018, the Department of Justice detailed the steps Fabode and four other healthcare professionals took to issue and dispense prescription opioids for supposed patients who did not have a legitimate medical need for the drugs. Physician Deshikachar primarily prescribed oxycodone and oxymorphone. Then, the two patient recruiters, Niesheia Tibu and Andrei Tibu, would take the supposed patients to Precare Pharmacy, Global Health Pharmacy and Friendz Pharmacy, where pharmacists would dispense the drugs. The other co-defendants all pleaded guilty to the conspiracy late last year, according to report. They are currently awaiting sentencing for their roles in this opioid drug diversion scheme in the coming months.

7,200 exposed to hepatitis C after investigation linked the same hepatitis from a patient treated at the hospital where a nurse diverted drugs in 2014.

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Utah nurse pleaded guilty to federal charges, admitting that she stole hospital painkillers and infected seven patients with a rare strain of hepatitis C. Elet Neilson, 53, agreed to a plea deal that allows U.S. District Judge Dee Benson to sentence her to prison for up to 10 years. She pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with a consumer product and two counts of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. A dozen similar charges were dismissed as part of the deal. In plea agreement documents, Neilson admitted that when she was an emergency room nurse at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, she diverted painkillers meant for patients and injected herself with the drugs before administering the drugs to others. As a result, seven people contracted the same strain of hepatitis C that Neilson has. When Benson asked her if this description of events was accurate, Neilson agreed. “I do take full responsibility,” she said. The woman wiped tears from her eyes as she left the courtroom. She’ll be sentenced on Dec. 5 and Benson agreed to sentence her to a range between zero months and 10 years. Federal prosecutor Sam Pead said after the hearing that he’s not sure yet whether he’ll ask for the maximum penalty, saying he needed to consult with the victims first. Though Neilson pleaded guilty to infecting seven patients, the Utah Department of Health estimated that at least 16 people were infected with the disease. State officials estimated that the former nurse exposed as many as 7,200 patients to the hepatitis C genotype B strain. Of those patients, roughly 4,800 were treated at McKay-Dee Hospital — where Neilson worked from June 2013 to November 2014— and 2,369 were at Davis Hospital and Medical Center, in Layton, where Neilson worked between 2012 and 2014. Neilson admitted to taking drugs from her employer while working at both hospitals, according to Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing records. She surrendered her nursing license in November 2015, a month after health officials began offering free testing to the thousands of patients who came into contact with her at the two hospitals and were given certain medications. Ogden police concluded in a report that it did not appear that Neilson intentionally tried to pass on the disease, and Weber County prosecutors later declined to file charges against her in connection to the hepatitis C outbreak. This is the first time federal prosecutors in Utah have taken on a case like Neilson’s. Similar cases have been reported nationwide, including a case of a traveling radiology technician who infected 30 patients with the virus in a multistate outbreak. That technician was sentenced to serve 39 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 14 charges similar to Neilson’s.

North Carolina pharmacy manager operated pharmacies to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs and sold them for profit to wholesalers.

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A pharmacy manager from Burnsville, North Carolina, pleaded guilty for her role in the fraudulent diversion of prescription drugs and money laundering. Karen Ann Turner, 37, pleaded guilty in the Western District of North Carolina to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Turner was charged in connection with a fraudulent scheme that operated out of pharmacies in Burnsville, North Carolina, and Travelers Rest, South Carolina. As a part of that scheme, Turner bought prescription drugs at lower prices by falsely stating that the drugs would be used to fill patient prescriptions through the pharmacies that she operated. Instead of using the drugs for patient prescriptions, Turner sold them at higher prices to unauthorized drug wholesalers. Some of the prescription drugs that Turner bought and sold were in short supply. Turner laundered the profits of her fraud scheme by transferring them through bank accounts that she controlled. As part of her guilty plea, Turner admitted that she operated two pharmacies to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs at low prices that were only available to pharmacies that agreed to use the drugs to fill patient prescriptions. Instead of using the drugs to fill prescriptions as she said she would, Turner sold the drugs to drug wholesalers for more than she paid, taking the drugs out of their controlled distribution system.

North Carolina pharmacy manager operated pharmacies to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs and sold them for profit to wholesalers.

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Owner and pharmacist-in-charge of two California pharmacies submitted claims to Medicaid and Medicare for prescription drugs later sold on the black market.

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New Jersey doctor did not conduct physical exams or even see some patients before prescribing hydrochloride, morphine sulfate, and methadone hydrochloride.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A New Jersey orthopedic surgeon was charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances. The surgeon and owner of a medical practice in Sicklerville, New Jersey, allegedly issued prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances to patients without assessing them in person or by telemedicine. The complaint also alleges the surgeon falsified patient files to suggest he interacted with a patient on occasions when he, in fact, did not. According to the complaint, the surgeon issued prescriptions that resulted in over 179,000 pills containing oxycodone hydrochloride, morphine sulfate, and methadone hydrochloride being dispensed by New Jersey pharmacies between April 27, 2020, and December 20, 2021.

South Florida pharmacist allegedly sold hundreds of thousands of powerful opioids like oxycodone and hydromorphone on the black market from 2019 to 2021.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A south Florida pharmacist was charged with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, the charge stems from the pharmacist's ownership and operation of a pharmacy, Neighborhood Pharmacy, in Boynton Beach, Florida, where he purchased large amounts of two powerful, short-acting opioids: oxycodone and hydromorphone. From 2019 to 2021, Neighborhood Pharmacy was by far the largest purchaser of these opioids in its zip code. Instead of dispensing these drugs pursuant to valid prescriptions, the pharmacist sold the vast majority of the opioids onto the black market. Specifically, over a two-year period, the pharmacist sold 219,567 pills of oxycodone and 112,840 pills of hydromorphone onto the black market.

The doctor operated three clinics in North Alabama and was the only physician working at any of those clinics, but saw as many as 100 patients per day.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A North Alabama doctor was charged by indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and health care fraud, as well as several substantive counts of illegally issuing opioid prescriptions. According to the indictment, between 2015 and March 2020, the doctor operated three medical clinics in Huntsville, Athens, and Killen, Alabama, where they served as the sole physician. The clinics billed insurers for millions of dollars in patient office visits that the doctor supposedly conducted, but was allegedly absent from, so other staff conducted patients visits instead. During these visits, patients regularly received opioid prescriptions that the doctor allegedly pre-signed.

The doctor operated three clinics in North Alabama and was the only physician working at any of those clinics, but saw as many as 100 patients per day.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A North Alabama doctor was charged by indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and health care fraud, as well as several substantive counts of illegally issuing opioid prescriptions. According to the indictment, between 2015 and March 2020, the doctor operated three medical clinics in Huntsville, Athens, and Killen, Alabama, where they served as the sole physician. The clinics billed insurers for millions of dollars in patient office visits that the doctor supposedly conducted, but was allegedly absent from, so other staff conducted patients visits instead. During these visits, patients regularly received opioid prescriptions that the doctor allegedly pre-signed.

The doctor operated three clinics in North Alabama and was the only physician working at any of those clinics, but saw as many as 100 patients per day.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A North Alabama doctor was charged by indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and health care fraud, as well as several substantive counts of illegally issuing opioid prescriptions. According to the indictment, between 2015 and March 2020, the doctor operated three medical clinics in Huntsville, Athens, and Killen, Alabama, where they served as the sole physician. The clinics billed insurers for millions of dollars in patient office visits that the doctor supposedly conducted, but was allegedly absent from, so other staff conducted patients visits instead. During these visits, patients regularly received opioid prescriptions that the doctor allegedly pre-signed.

Clinic owner provided addiction treatment but prescribed oxycodone, oxymorphone, and other controlled substances despite red flags for addiction and abuse.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A federal jury in Nashville convicted a physician Tuesday for unlawfully distributing oxymorphone, oxycodone, morphine sulfate, and other controlled substances from his Smyrna clinic. Officials said Hau T. la, 54, of Brentwood, owned and operated Absolute Medical Care, which closed in the Spring of 2021. According to court documents, La purportedly provided addiction treatment as his primary practice but prescribed opioid pain pills to some of his patients despite red flags for addiction and abuse. AMC reportedly did not accept health insurance and charged patients $200-$350 cash, credit, or debit, per visit and was only open on Fridays. Officials said that La rarely spent more than a few minutes with the patients to whom he provided unlawful opioid prescriptions. La was convicted of 12 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance outside the usual course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purposes. The jury reportedly acquitted him of four counts. He now faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count.

Tennessee hospice nurse charged with fraud, identity theft for her role in defrauding local pharmacies with the intent of distributing controlled substances.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A hospice nurse of Pulaski, Tennessee was charged by indictment with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in connection with a scheme to unlawfully obtain opioids by filling fraudulent prescriptions in the names of current and former hospice patients. The former nurse and clinical director allegedly used the personally identifiable information of her patients at two different hospices to fill unauthorized prescriptions for thousands of hydrocodone and oxycodone pills. According to the indictment, the nurse used the patients’ hospice benefits to cover the costs of the unlawfully obtained prescription opioids, but allegedly kept the drugs for her own use and further distribution.

Tennessee family medicine doctor charged with unlawful distribution of controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and buprenorphine.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A family medicine doctor of Manchester, Tennessee was charged by indictment with conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances, unlawful distribution of controlled substances, and maintaining a drug-involved premises. The doctor owned and operated a medical practice in Manchester and was charged in connection with an alleged scheme to distribute opioids and Suboxone outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.

Kentucky dentist is facing federal charges for distributing oxycodone and morphine sulfate inappropriately which resulted in the death of a patient.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Crescent Springs dentist is facing federal charges for allegedly distributing drugs inappropriately which resulted in the death of a patient. The dentist owns the Northern Kentucky Dental Center and practiced dentistry for more than 30 years. He faces four counts of improperly prescribing oxycodone or morphine sulphate and one count of distributing morphine sulphate that led to a death. A 24-year-old woman overdosed and died after the dentist wrote her four opioid prescriptions in a month, three of them in a five-day period, a prosecutor said in a court motion. From August 4, 2020, to Aug. 26, 2020, the dentist allegedly distributed a total of 60 oxycodone pills and 48 morphine sulfate pills to a patient. According to court papers, the prescriptions were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose and "outside the scope of professional practice". A dental expert told federal authorities that in his opinion, the dentist's conduct was “shockingly outside the usual course of professional practice for a dentist,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Jason said in one motion. The dentist, who operates four dental clinics in Northern Kentucky, has pleaded not guilty. The charge of improper prescribing leading to a death carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Kentucky doctor charged with unlawful distribution of hydrocodone and other controlled substances, making false statements. and defrauding Medicare & Medicaid.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Justice, together with federal and state law enforcement partners, announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in eight federal districts across the United States for their alleged involvement in crimes related to the unlawful distribution of opioids. Twelve of the defendants were medical professionals at the time of these alleged offenses. A Kentucky doctor was charged by indictment with unlawful distribution of controlled substances and making false statements in connection with the delivery of health care services. These charges stem from allegedly issuing prescriptions for opioids outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose while the owner and operator of East KY Clinic, PLLC in Paintsville. According to the indictment, the doctor issued these unlawful prescriptions to have continued access to patients whose health care treatment was paid for by taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid and to bill these programs for medically unnecessary procedures for these patients. Sometimes patients waited for hours to see this doctor for their prescriptions but had interactions with him that lasted only a few minutes and sometimes only a few seconds; the doctor is alleged to have fraudulently billed these visits as if they were much lengthier and more complex.

Ohio family practice physician unlawfully prescribed hydrocodone and tramadol from 2017-2020.

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Ohio MD charged with unlawful distribution of controlled substances for illegally prescribing buprenorphine, dextroamphetamine-amphetamine, and clonazepam.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The scheme operated from 2012 until 2020 and involved 38,780 30-milligram oxycodone tablets prescribed illegally, which the assistant principal then sold.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former assistant principal at an elementary school in Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to two years in federal prison for her role in the distribution of opioids that involved an Alabama physician. Melodie Donne Armer Cheatham, 38, of Savannah, resigned as interim assistant principal of Otis J. Brock Elementary School on April 11, 2022 the Savannah Morning News reported. Her resignation came eight months after she pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiring to unlawfully possess oxycodone with intent to distribute and for illegally distributing the prescription drug, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama. In addition to her two-year sentence, Cheatham will have three years of supervised release, WJCL-TV reported. Cheatham was one of 11 people who pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2021, the news release stated. She had been employed by Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools since 2015, WTOC-TV reported. According to court documents, the defendants agreed to obtain illegitimate and unlawful prescriptions for oxycodone prescribed by D’Livro Lemat Beauchamp, a physician in Montgomery, Alabama. The scheme operated from 2012 until April 2020 and prosecutors said the defendants distributed 38,780 30-milligram oxycodone tablets, WSAV-TV reported. Cheatham’s relationship to other defendants in the case was unclear, the Morning News reported. Investigators said that in many cases, the prescriptions were coordinated through a third party and the defendants would never go see the doctor, WSB-TV reported. Beauchamp pleaded guilty to the same offense as the 11 defendants on Oct. 20, 2020, prosecutors said in a news release. In a statement, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools officials said they were “deeply disappointed” in Cheatham’s behavior. “This individual is no longer employed with the school district. During the time that Melodie Cheatham was employed with the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, she had no employee infractions and there is no information to support that any of the actions with which she is charged took place in our school setting,” the statement said. “District employees are held to high standards and we expect further actions may be taken by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. We are deeply disappointed in this behavior and do not condone any actions that place the students or staff of our district at risk.”

$112 million fraud scheme in Florida included paying kickbacks to patients through recruiters and receiving kickbacks from testing laboratories.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two brothers who operated multiple South Florida addiction treatment facilities were sentenced to prison March 18, 2022,for a $112 million addiction treatment fraud scheme that included paying kickbacks to patients through patient recruiters and receiving kickbacks from testing laboratories. Jonathan Markovich, 37, and his brother, Daniel Markovich, 33, both of Bal Harbour, were sentenced in the Southern District of Florida to 188 months and 97 months in prison, respectively. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the defendants conspired to unlawfully bill for approximately $112 million of addiction treatment services that were medically unnecessary and/or never provided, which were procured through illegal kickbacks at two addiction treatment facilities, Second Chance Detox LLC, dba Compass Detox (Compass Detox), an inpatient detox and residential facility, and WAR Network LLC (WAR), a related outpatient treatment program. The defendants obtained patients through patient recruiters who offered illegal kickbacks to patients, including free airline tickets, illegal drugs, and cash payments. The defendants shuffled a core group of patients between Compass Detox and WAR in a cycle of admissions and re-admissions to fraudulently bill for as much as possible. Patient recruiters gave patients illegal drugs prior to admission to Compass Detox to ensure admittance for detox, which was the most expensive kind of addiction treatment offered by the defendants’ facilities. In addition, therapy sessions were billed for but not regularly provided or attended, and excessive, medically unnecessary urinalysis drug tests were ordered, billed for, and paid. Compass Detox patients were given a so-called “Comfort Drink” to sedate them, and to keep them coming back. Patients were also given large and potentially harmful amounts of controlled substances, in addition to the “Comfort Drink,” to keep them compliant and docile, and to ensure they stayed at the facility. “To manipulate and exploit patients seeking help in their most vulnerable state is unacceptable,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “These individuals orchestrated a scheme that sought profits over the well-being of patients, and they will be held accountable for their actions. With the help of our law enforcement partners, the FBI continues to investigate, bring down these criminal enterprises, and protect our citizens.” After a seven-week trial in November 2021, both defendants were convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Jonathan Markovich was convicted of eight counts of health care fraud and Daniel Markovich was convicted of two counts of health care fraud. They were also both convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and two counts of paying and receiving kickbacks. Jonathan Markovich was separately convicted of conspiring to commit money laundering, two counts of concealment money laundering, and six counts of laundering at least $10,000 in proceeds of unlawful activities. He was also convicted of two counts of bank fraud related to fraudulently obtaining PPP loans for both Compass Detox and WAR during the COVID-19 pandemic.

$112 million fraud scheme in Florida included paying kickbacks to patients through recruiters and receiving kickbacks from testing laboratories.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Dentist gave his credentials to an office staff member who obtained oxycodone for personal use. The dentist was fined and surrendered their DEA registration.

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Omar Guesmia, of Phoenix, New York will pay $60,000 to resolve allegations that he, and his dentistry practice, “Gentle Dental Care,” violated the Controlled Substances Act by enabling an office staff member to use an electronic prescription system to obtain oxycodone for their own use. The announcement was made by Carla B. Freedman, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division. Physicians generally send prescriptions to pharmacies using an electronic prescription system that can only be accessed using a password or other token, ensuring that only authorized persons transmit prescriptions to a pharmacy. Federal and New York State law prohibit practitioners from sharing their prescribing credentials with others and provide that physicians are responsible for all prescriptions written under their credentials. Dr. Guesmia gave his credentials to an office staff member, who transmitted oxycodone prescriptions to various pharmacies, then retrieved the prescriptions for their own illegitimate use. As part of the civil settlement, Dr. Guesmia admitted that he failed to monitor the prescriptions written using his credentials. “The authority to prescribe controlled substances comes with great responsibility,” said United States Attorney Freedman. “I encourage all medical providers who have a prescription pad or credentials to safeguard access and vigilantly monitor their use through resources like New York State’s Prescription Monitoring Program, also known as I-STOP.” Dr. Guesmia surrendered his DEA Registration, and as part of the civil settlement agreement, agreed not to seek a renewal for at least five years.

Gynecologist, licensed pharmacist, and co-conspirators plead guilty for roles in operating a pill mill network in Atlanta.

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Delaware man pleads guilty to COVID-19 drug fraud scheme that roped in pharmacies in Tennessee and a Veteran Affairs Medical Center in New York.

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Delaware man is facing five years in federal prison for a COVID-19 drug fraud scheme that roped in pharmacies in Etowah and Maryville, authorities said. Jose Torres, 58, of Shelbyville, Delaware, pleaded guilty last week to one count of conspiracy to engage in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of prescription drugs. in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Torres faces a term of up to five years, $250,000 in fines and three years of supervised release and is set to be sentenced March 29, according to the in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. “This plea agreement represents the commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to prosecuting those who exploited the fears of others to unlawfully profit during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III. Torres conspired to buy drugs that were in short supply and sell them to wholesale distributors at a hefty profit, according to the complaint filed against him. Torres worked with a California-based company that recruited independent retail pharmacies to join a network referred to as the Pipe-Line Program. Independent pharmacies in Etowah and Maryville, which were not named in the complaint, joined the Pipe-Line program, which was described as a partnership meant to help fill voids in the supply chain of medications. This allowed Torres to buy drugs from the pharmacies' authorized distributors, paying the pharmacies a commission of as much as 23%. The pharmacies were led to believe this was a valid program and they were legally allowed to wholesale up to 5% of their annual gross sales, according to the federal complaint. The most egregious fraud came after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Torres purchased hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets from a Maryville pharmacy for $178 per unit and resold them to a Veterans Affairs medical center for $442 per unit, according to the complaint. Torres' fraudulent purchase came as the epidemic was beginning to inundate health care systems and an unvetted medical study suggested hydroxychloroquine could help patients, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. At the start of the pandemic, then-President Donald Trump authorized the U.S. government to purchase and stockpile 29 million pills of hydroxychloroquine for use by patients with COVID-19. The FDA subsequently revoked its authorization for the use of the drug by mid-June 2020. Howard H. Baker, Jr. United States Courthouse in Knoxville, Tenn. on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. Torres used an Etowah pharmacy to buy epinephrine at $63 a unit and resold it at a 120% markup, the complaint stated. The drug is used for emergency treatment of severe allergic reactions. The man later purchased amiodarone, a heart medication, from the same pharmacy for $42 a unit and resold it to a Veterans Affairs medical center for nearly three times the purchase price. Similarly, he purchased famotidine, an antacid, from a Maryville pharmacy and resold it for a profit of $60 per unit. According to the federal indictment, Torres personally profited to the tune of nearly $120,000 from those four transactions, an amount he has agreed to repay.

Nurse found guilty by a jury of using insulin stolen from her workplace, an Alabama hospital, to poison her husband after he started investigating her.

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Madison County jury has found Marjorie "Nikki" Cappello guilty in the murder of her husband. Investigators say former nurse Marjorie "Nikki" Cappello used insulin that she stole from her workplace, North Alabama Specialty Hospital in Athens, to poison her husband, James "Jim" Cappello. The jury deliberated for less than an hour on Thursday. As everyone waited for the verdict to be read, there was an anxious feeling throughout the courtroom. The sense that the family of Jim Cappello might finally have closure after a murder from nearly four years ago. "Waiting three and a half years for justice, and we got it," says James Cappello, Jim's father. It has been nearly four years since Jim Cappello was murdered by his wife, Nikki. Jim's family says finally hearing a guilty verdict brings some closure, but doesn't change the fact that their loved one is gone. "One part of it is over, the other you got to heal from that, and he'll never be forgotten," says James. Prosecutors say there was a clear case against Nikki from the beginning, and even brought one of her close friends to the stand who testified that Nikki came clean to her and admitted she had poisoned her husband with insulin. Insulin that she stole from the North Alabama Specialty Hospital in Athens where she worked as a nurse. In 2018, when the crime happened, investigators found Jim's body in the garage of their home and a freshly dug grave in the backyard, along with a dirty shovel and muddy pair of women's shoes. Prosecutors think it was strong witness testimony like that allowed jurors to unanimously return a guilty verdict after less than an hour of deliberation. Although a lot of the evidence presented during the trial was circumstantial, prosecutors say with witness testimony and a timeline of events, they were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Nikki murdered her husband. During the trial jurors heard from an expert witness who described how small insulin needles are. So small that they don't even leave a mark when inserted, so investigators were never able to find where Nikki injected her husband. However, this small factor did not sway the jury, and they still came back with a guilty verdict.

Florida pharmacy executive and executive assistant accomplice sentenced for defrauding Tricare and CHAMPVA of $88 million through a compounding pharmacy scheme.

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former South Florida pharmacy executive was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for defrauding Tricare and CHAMPVA of approximately $88 million through a compounding pharmacy fraud scheme. Tricare and CHAMPVA are the health care benefit programs for the United States Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. His executive assistant received a sentence of five years imprisonment for her role in the conspiracy Miami prosecutors have charged two former employees with Pompano Beach-based Patient Care America with bilking $87 million from a military healthcare program run by the U.S. Department of Defense. The alleged scheme included patient referrals that Grow and several others steered to them through marketing companies over a one-year span, according to court records. Matthew Smith, a pharmacist and former vice president of PCA, and Alisa Catoggio, a pharmacy technician, were charged in late April with conspiring to commit healthcare fraud by submitting bogus claims for prescribed drugs to the federal Tricare program for thousands of military service members and veterans who didn’t need them. The former PCA employees are accused of mixing ingredients to create expensive pain creams to treat the scars of military personnel with questionable prescriptions who were not charged any co-payments for the drugs. The former football player, who owned a marketing firm, used telemedicine companies to prescribe the compound medications, paying them approximately $100 per telephone or video consultation. Grow and his associates filled out prescription forms, faxed them to telemedicine companies for signing by a doctor, and then sent them to the pharmacy. According to court records, a pain cream prescription that costs the PCA pharmacy about $700 to fill could be reimbursed by Tricare for $16,000. Grow and his team of recruiters received $7,000 in commissions each time. Of the $87 million that the PCA pharmacy collected from Tricare between 2014 and 2015, about half was kicked back to Grow, his team of associates and other companies for the patient referrals. In addition to healthcare fraud, both Smith and Catoggio are accused of paying and receiving healthcare kickbacks. The Pompano Beach pharmacy business has been mired in controversy over kickback allegations involving the Tricare program for several years. In 2019, Patient Care America, CEO Patrick Smith and and pharmacist Matthew Smith, the former vice president of operations, agreed to settle a False Claims Act case with the Justice Department. PCA, along with a private equity firm, paid $21 million; Patrick Smith paid $300,000; and Matthew Smith paid $12,788. The payments resolving the civil case were based on the ability to pay, according to the Justice Department. Patrick Smith, the CEO, was not charged criminally. But Matthew Smith, along with his assistant, Catoggio, were charged in the criminal case, which began with the prosecution of Grow and several others.

Florida pharmaceutical president pleads guilty to using a manufacturing facility and employees to produce more than 500,000 pints of counterfeit cough syrup.

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A Florida-based pharmaceutical president pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas. Adam P. Runsdorf, 57, of Boca Raton, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit drugs, and money laundering conspiracy. He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison. According to the indictment, from April 2014 until August 2021, Runsdorf, the owner and president of Woodfield Pharmaceutical LLC based in Boca Raton, Florida, conspired with drug traffickers in Houston, Texas, to distribute misbranded and counterfeit cough syrup. Runsdorf’s company pleaded guilty to the same charges today. According to information presented in court, Byron A. Marshall, 43, of Houston, utilized Woodfield Pharmaceutical’s manufacturing facility and employees in Houston to produce more than 500,000 pints of counterfeit cough syrup. Marshall’s drug trafficking organization sold the counterfeit drugs across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Arkansas, and Ohio. Prices generally ranged from $100 to more than $1,000 per one-pint bottle. Depending on the market and brand of cough syrup, prices went as high as $3,800 to $4,000 per pint. During the conspiracy, Marshall communicated directly with Runsdorf regarding production of the counterfeit cough syrup. At Runsdorf’s request, Marshall paid Woodfield Pharmaceutical in cash only, and Woodfield employees mailed the cash directly to Runsdorf in Boca Raton. Six codefendants, including Marshall, have already pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Runsdorf faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. “In April 2014, Actavis Holdco US discontinued production of Actavis cough syrup due to its widespread abuse by recreational drug users,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “After that, the street value of Actavis increased to more than $3,000 per pint. In his greed, Adam Runsdorf, owner and president of Woodfield Pharmaceutical, used his position and connections to enable drug traffickers in Houston to produce thousands of gallons of counterfeit Actavis, labeled to be nearly identical to the discontinued product. The conspirators in this case sought to capitalize on the scarcity of Actavis and other prescription cough syrups by marketing counterfeit versions to street-level abusers.” "Today Adam Runsdorf pled guilty for his role as the CEO of Woodfield Distributors to illegally distributing thousands of controlled substances into our communities, Runsdorf misused the privilege granted by the DEA to handle controlled substances by conspiring with street level drug dealers to manufacture fake drug labels to help drug dealers profit," said DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division Daniel C. Comeaux.

A registered nurse pled guilty to tampering with vials and syringes of injectable hydromorphone at the Detroit hospital where she worked.

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A registered nurse pled guilty in United States District Court to tampering with vials and syringes of liquid painkiller at the Detroit hospital where she worked. According to court documents, Mary Cheatham, 42, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, a registered nurse who previously was employed in the critical care unit at a hospital in Detroit, Michigan, removed vials and syringes of injectable hydromorphone from the medication dispensing machines, by extracting the hydromorphone using syringes, and then replaced the saline-filled vials and syringes into the unit’s medication dispensing machines. Cheatham’s tampering took place between March 2020 and August 2020. Cheatham knew the vials and syringes of hydromorphone were intended to be administered to patients for the purpose of pain relief in the critical care unit of the hospital. Cheatham’s sentencing is scheduled for January 18, 2023. Cheatham faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The Court will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

County coroner convicted for illegal distribution of controlled substances - license suspended, and had been restricted twice before.

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A federal jury convicted a Kentucky man on September 24, 2022, for illegally prescribing controlled substances Oxycontin, Klonopin, Ambien, and Valium in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. David Suetholz, 71, of Ludlow, unlawfully prescribed controlled substances to his patients outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Some patients were prescribed high doses of medication and in dangerous combinations without justification. Suetholz also prescribed to patients without assessing their risks for addiction or their past history of substance abuse. Suetholz was convicted of 12 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Former nurse admitted to stealing an infusion bag containing fentanyl and multiple syringes of hydromorphone.

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former nurse has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with the diversion of opioids from two Boston-area hospitals. Lisa Tarr, 33, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception and subterfuge. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. According to the charging documents, in August 2018, Tarr was a Student Nurse working at a Boston-area hospital. It is alleged that Tarr admitted to investigators at the hospital that she had stolen and self-injected fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, from the hospital. In 2020, while working for another Boston-area hospital, Tarr stole an infusion bag containing fentanyl that was being used to treat a patient. On another occasion in 2020, while still working at the second hospital, Tarr stole multiple syringes of hydromorphone, a Schedule II controlled substance, from a locked drug cabinet. The charge of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud provides a sentence of no greater than four years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

A Jacksonville nurse was arrested and accused of stealing medication from an employer for a second time.

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Jacksonville nurse was arrested and accused of stealing medication from an employer for a second time. The nurse appeared in court on September 10, 2022, after being arrested the prior day while working at UF Health Jacksonville. She was charged with one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. The judge set the nurse bond at $50,003 and ordered the nurse to wear a drug patch, which a source told us is used to absorb sweat and allows authorities to check for drugs in her system. When the nurse was arrested at work, she was already out of jail on bond following a July arrest in Clay County on charges of stealing medication at Orange Park Medical Center, where she worked in the emergency room. Investigators in the Clay County case said the medication she stole was meant for patients suffering pain. The JSO arrest report, which details the allegation against the nurse, was not available despite confirmation that she was booked into the Duval County jail around 1:30 p.m. on September 10, 2022.

Anesthesiologist convicted of tampering with IV bags linked to coworker’s death and other emergencies

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Texas Medical Board took emergency action on September 9, 2022 to suspend the license of a Dallas anesthesiologist suspected of tampering with IV bags. The Board's order said the anesthesiologist is under federal investigation in connection with the death of a fellow doctor and with complications patients suffered, even during routine surgery. The events under investigation happened at Baylor Scott & White Surgicare Center in North Dallas, which halted all surgeries this week. The suspension comes after the Texas Medical Board called an emergency meeting Friday after hearing from federal law enforcement. It said it moved quickly because of what it considers imminent peril to the public's health. The Board determined evidence exists linking the anesthesiologist to compromised IV bags found at the surgical center. According to the Board's order, the anesthesiologist was seen on surveillance footage in the surgical center depositing single IV bags into the warmer in the hall outside operating rooms, and that "shortly thereafter a patient would suffer a serious complication." The Board said lab tests on IV bags taken from the same warmer found "visible tiny holes in the plastic wrap around the bags." It said those bags contained bupivacaine, but were not labeled as such. Tests done on an IV bag given to an otherwise healthy patient who suffered a serious heart complication during routine surgery found the remaining fluid inside contained similar drugs that should have not been present, according to the Texas Medical Board. When given unknowingly, the Board wrote, "such drugs could and would be fatal." Federal investigators also appear to be looking at the anesthesiologist in connection with the death of Dr. Melanie Kaspar on June 21. According to the Board, on that day, "a fellow physician at Surgicare ... took an IV bag home with her when she was ill to rehydrate. She inserted the IV into her vein and almost immediately had a serious cardiac event and died." CBS 11 reached out to the anesthesiologist for comment Friday night. He was apparently unaware his license had been suspended and told us "I'm just devastated," and that he didn't do it. The Texas Medical Board said it will schedule another hearing on this case as soon as it's practical to do so, and it will provide the anesthesiologist 10 days notice. Until then, his license will remain suspended. CBS 11 reached out to Baylor Scott & White. They said: "The safety of those we serve remains our priority. We will continue to limit our comments as we support authorities in their investigation."

Nurse practitioner who operated a medical clinic regularly wrote more than 100 oxycodone prescriptions per month, including some for the office staff.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict yesterday against Purificacion Cristobal for her participation in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice. Cristobal was also convicted of two counts of oxycodone distribution pertaining to specific prescriptions. She was found not guilty of other counts of oxycodone distribution pertaining to other prescriptions. Cristobal will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who presided over the approximately two-week trial. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Purificacion Cristobal prescribed powerful medications to patients, some of whom had no medical need for them and were likely selling them, thereby contributing to the flow of highly potent drugs into the black markets of New York. We trust medical professionals to responsibly handle potentially harmful drugs, and this Office will not turn a blind eye to those professionals who break that trust.” As proven at trial, Cristobal, a licensed nurse practitioner purporting to specialize in psychiatry, operated a clinic on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx. Between approximately June 2019 and June 2020, CRISTOBAL prescribed tens of thousands of doses of oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose outside of the usual course of professional practice. Oxycodone is a highly potent and addictive opioid that commands high prices in the black market because of demand by drug abusers. CRISTOBAL often prescribed oxycodone in combination with Xanax (alprazolam) and/or Adderall (amphetamine), controlled substances that are themselves frequently abused and resold illicitly. Cristobal never performed physical examinations or medical tests, often asked patients to take their pick among different narcotics, and was repeatedly warned by others that her patients were reselling or abusing the drugs she prescribed. She encouraged existing patients to recruit others, regularly accepted cash, and charged different cash “fees” depending on how many prescriptions she wrote for a particular patient. Cristobal also coordinated with a nearby pharmacist, to whom she referred many of her patients, to shield her unlawful prescribing practices from law enforcement scrutiny. * * * Cristobal , 75, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute oxycodone and two counts of distributing oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice. Those counts carry, in the aggregate, a maximum potential sentence of 60 years in prison.

A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania doctor and office manager for an incentivized prescribing scheme involving injured federal workers and Medicare beneficiaries.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania man and woman on September 21, 2022, for a scheme to pay and receive kickbacks in exchange for the referral of prescription medications. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Steven J. Valentino, 65, of Haverford, and Michele Miller, 53, of Swarthmore, a doctor and his office manager, respectively, participated in an incentivized prescribing scheme involving injured federal workers and Medicare beneficiaries. Valentino and Miller received kickbacks for referring, ordering, and arranging for medications – including expensive compound medications – to be filled by a Houston pharmacy. Between May 2013 and July 2017, the pharmacy billed the Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Program (DOL-OWCP) and Medicare approximately $2.5 million and was paid approximately $1.1 million for prescriptions referred, ordered, and arranged by Valentino and Miller in exchange for illegal health care kickbacks. Valentino and Miller were both convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, and each was also convicted of two counts of receiving health care kickbacks.

Washington Nursing Commission indefinitely suspend registered nurse's license for falsifying administration documentation, admits oxycodone diversion.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In July 2022 the Washington State Nursing Commission and a registered nurse entered into an order that suspends the nurse's credential. The nurse had withdrawn oxycodone for a patient who never received the pain medication, and a hospital audit found Hanson had withdrawn more oxycodone than other floor nurses even though she did not have individual patient responsibilities. The Washington state Department of Health Nursing Commission indefinitely suspended the license of a registered Richland nurse for alleged misconduct on the job. She got her license in July 2013 and was working as a nurse supervisor at a local medical center around 2018-2019. The nurse is accused of getting oxycodone and lying about giving it to a patient, according to the statement of charges from the DOH. In January 2019, she got oxycodone from a Pyxis machine, then reported giving it to a patient on his chart. The patient told another nurse that he hadn’t been given any pain medication. This led to hospital management doing a pharmacy audit for November and December of 2018. As a supervisor, the nurse was not assigned individual patients, like other nurses. Despite this fact, the audit showed the nurse taking more oxycodone than any other nurse on the floor, according to the statement of charges. When law enforcement asked the nurse about the incident, she reportedly admitted she had diverted the substances. Based on those allegations, in December 2021 the DOH Nursing Commission accused the nurse of unprofessional conduct for possession of a controlled substance, appropriation of medication and violation of professional regulation. In order to even petition to have her license reinstated, the nurse will have to enroll in the Washington Health Professional Services monitoring program until they say monitoring is no longer needed, according to the agreed order signed July 2022.

Federal court issues temporary restraining order to prevent Tampa-area pharmacist from filling prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A federal court issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting a Tampa-area pharmacist from filling prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced on August 4, 2022. In a complaint filed on August 1 and unsealed today, the United States alleges that the pharmacist unlawfully distributed powerful opioids by filling prescriptions he knew were not valid at Apexx Pharmacy in Hudson, Florida, where he is the owner and sole pharmacist. The complaint alleges that the pharmacist charged dramatically inflated prices to fill opioid prescriptions and accepted thousands of dollars in cash for the drugs. The complaint further alleges that the pharmacist instructed individuals to forge signatures on certain forms and to falsify addresses. The complaint also alleges that the pharmacist filled numerous controlled substance prescriptions for persons who were deceased. “Pharmacists who knowingly fill invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances violate the law and endanger our communities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to prosecute medical professionals who put profit over public safety.” “The illegal distribution of opioids by medical professionals has caused great harm to people in our communities, and has led to a nationwide epidemic,” said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. “We are committed to using every enforcement tool available to stop those individuals whose unlawful actions and abandonment of their professional responsibilities have fueled the opioid crisis.” “In the midst of a deadly overdose epidemic in our country, addressing the diversion of opioids and other controlled substances is a top priority for DEA,” said Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the DEA Miami Field Division. “DEA remains steadfast in our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that our communities are safe and healthy.” The temporary restraining order was issued by U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The pending complaint seeks to permanently enjoin the pharmacist from filling prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, and from owning or supervising a pharmacy.

New Jersey pharmacy admits illegal distribution of prescription opioids and kickback scheme and agrees to criminal and civil penalties.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Bergen County pharmacy admitted its role in a conspiracy to illegally distribute prescription opioids and to give kickbacks to healthcare providers, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on August 3, 2022. Dunn Meadow LLC (doing business as Dunn Meadow Pharmacy) of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Julien Neals to an information charging it with conspiring to illegally distribute prescription fentanyl and giving kickbacks to healthcare providers. Dunn Meadow also signed a civil settlement with the United States for violations of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act. According to documents filed in this case, statements made in court, and the terms of the civil settlement: Dunn Meadow was a licensed retail pharmacy that sent controlled substances and other prescription medications to patients via mail throughout the United States, including highly addictive and dangerous transmucosal immediate release fentanyl (TIRF) medications. Dunn Meadow had contracts with and received payments from pharmaceutical companies that marketed and sold TIRF medications, including INSYS Pharma Inc. From 2015 through 2019, Dunn Meadow dispensed prescription TIRF medications and other controlled substances knowing that the prescriptions were not written for a legitimate medical purpose. Dunn Meadow knowingly filled prescriptions for controlled substances, including TIRF medications, for patients exhibiting suspicious and drug-seeking behavior, including patients that repeatedly requested early refills, paid thousands of dollars in cash for their prescriptions, or requested that prescriptions be sent to suspicious or inappropriate locations including hotels, casinos, and elementary schools. Despite warnings from third parties, including some of its suppliers, Dunn Meadow continued to fill prescriptions for TIRF medications and other opioids written by doctors with suspicious and problematic prescribing habits, sometimes without receiving an original prescription. After two different pharmaceutical suppliers terminated supply agreements with Dunn Meadow, Dunn Meadow submitted applications to other suppliers stating that no supplier had ever suspended, ceased, or restricted controlled substance sales to Dunn Meadow. Dunn Meadow also admitted that it conspired to offer kickbacks to health care providers and pharmaceutical company sales representatives in violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, in the form of lunches, dinners, and happy hours to induce them to send TIRF prescriptions to Dunn Meadow. Dunn Meadow admitted that its violations of the statute caused a loss to federally funded healthcare programs of over $4.5 million. In addition, Dunn Meadow and its parent company, Allegheny Pharma LLC entered a civil settlement with the United States to resolve Dunn Meadow’s civil liability for violations of the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act. Dunn Meadow’s criminal restitution payment will be applied to the civil resolution. Dunn Meadow has also agreed to pay up to $50 million dollars over the next five years to resolve its civil liability if it generates future revenue.

Two Houston pharmacists face charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that targeted elderly citizens using telemarketing and mail.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Two Houston area men face new charges in nationwide pharmacy health care fraud scheme that that targeted elderly citizens.

Mohamed Mokbel, 57, and Fathy Elsafty, 63, both of Houston, are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho today at 2 p.m.

Mokbel and ElSafty are charged with one count of a conspiracy to commit mail and health care fraud, two counts of health care fraud and 15 counts of money laundering.

Florida pharmacy fined $1.31 million for submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare for Evzio, a high-priced drug used in rapid reversal of opioid overdoses.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Florida-based Solera Specialty Pharmacy has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $1.31 million civil settlement to resolve allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare for Evzio, a high-priced drug used in rapid reversal of opioid overdoses. According to Solera’s admissions in the criminal and civil agreements, the pharmacy dispensed Evzio from January 2017 to May 2018. During that time, Evzio was the highest-priced version of naloxone on the market and insurers frequently required the submission of prior authorization requests before they would approve coverage for Evzio. Solera completed Evzio prior authorizations forms in place of the prescribing physicians, including instances in which Solera staff signed the forms without the physician’s authorization and listed Solera’s contact information as if it were the physician’s information. In addition, Solera submitted Evzio prior authorization requests that contained false clinical information to secure approval for the expensive drug. Finally, Solera waived Medicare beneficiary co-payment obligations for Evzio on numerous occasions without analyzing whether the patient had a genuine financial hardship. Solera entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in connection with a criminal information charging the pharmacy with one count of health care fraud. Solera and its CEO, Nicholas Saraniti, also entered into a civil settlement agreement and will pay the government $1.31 million to resolve claims under the False Claims Act. In connection with the settlements, Solera and Saraniti entered into a three-year integrity agreement (IA) with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). The IA requires, among other things, Solera implement measures designed to ensure that its submission of claims for pharmaceutical products complies with applicable law relating to prior authorizations and collection of beneficiary co-payment obligations. In addition, the IA requires reviews by an independent review organization. The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Rebecca Socol, a former employee of kaléo Inc., the manufacturer of Evzio. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. As part of this resolution, Ms. Socol will receive $262,000 of the settlement amount. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Socol v. Solera Specialty Pharmacy LLC., 18-cv010050-RGS (D. Mass.) (under seal). In 2021, the department announced settlements with kaléo for $12.7 million and with other pharmacies for $1 million relating to the submission of false claims for Evzio.

Physician convicted on 30 charges related to unlawful distribution of Oxycontin, Oxycodone, morphine, hydrocodone, and Xanax at two medical clinics.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Pharmacist and pharmacy owner sentenced to prison for unlawfully dispensing opioids and other controlled substances using fake prescriptions.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Pharmacy owner and telemedicine service defrauded pharmacy benefit managers into authorizing claims that insurers paid to pharmacies they controlled.

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Dec. 2, 2021 a federal jury in Greeneville, Tennessee, convicted Peter Bolos, 44, of Tampa, Florida, of 22 counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and introduction of a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, following a month-long trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bolos and his co-conspirators, Andrew Assad, Michael Palso, Maikel Bolos, Larry Smith, Scott Roix, HealthRight LLC, Mihir Taneja, Arun Kapoor, and Sterling Knight Pharmaceuticals, as well as various other companies owned by them, deceived pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), such as Express Scripts and CVS Caremark, regarding tens of thousands of prescriptions. The PBMs processed and approved claims for prescription drugs on behalf of insurance companies. Bolos and his co-conspirators defrauded the PBMs into authorizing claims worth more than $174 million that private insurers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, and public insurers such as Medicaid and TRICARE, paid to pharmacies controlled by the co-conspirators. Court documents and evidence at trial established that Bolos, Assad and Palso owned and operated Synergy Pharmacy in Palm Harbor, Florida. Under their direction, Synergy agreed with Scott Roix, a Florida telemarketer operating under the name HealthRight, to generate prescriptions for Synergy and the other pharmacies involved in the scheme. The prescriptions were typically for drugs such as pain creams, scar creams and vitamins. To obtain the prescriptions, evidence showed Roix used HealthRight’s telemarketing platform as a telemedicine service, calling consumers and deceiving them into agreeing to accept the drugs and to provide their personal insurance information. HealthRight then paid doctors to authorize the prescriptions through its telemedicine platform, even though the doctors never communicated directly with the patients and relied solely on the telemarketers’ screening process as the basis for their authorizations. Because this faulty and fraudulent process made the prescriptions invalid, the drugs were misbranded under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Synergy and the other pharmacies nonetheless dispensed the drugs to consumers as part of the scheme, so that Bolos could submit fraudulent reimbursement claims. Court documents and evidence at trial established that during the conspiracy, which lasted from May 2015 through April 2018, Bolos paid Roix more than $30 million to buy at least 60,000 invalid prescriptions generated by HealthRight. Evidence showed Bolos selected specific medications for the prescriptions that he could submit for highly profitable reimbursements. In addition, Bolos used illegal means to hide his activity from the PBMs so that he could remain undetected. Evidence showed that Bolos was responsible for at least $89 million out of the total $174 million in fraudulently paid billings. Roix, Assad, Palso, Smith, Maikel Bolos and various associated business entities previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. Taneja, Kapoor, and Sterling Knight pleaded guilty to felony misbranding in a conspiracy with Bolos. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer set sentencing for Bolos for May 19, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. The trial and plea agreements resulted from a multi-year investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General (Nashville); Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (Nashville); U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General (Buffalo); Federal Bureau of Investigation (Knoxville and Johnson City, Tennessee); Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (Atlanta); and the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (Tampa). The U.S. Marshals Service also assisted in the investigation and the forfeiture of assets.

An Iowa nurse with a history of theft has been convicted of stealing fentanyl from hospital patients at two different facilities.

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Cassandra Pierce, 32, of Ottumwa, has been sentenced to three years of probation.

In May 2016, while working at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, Pierce allegedly stole morphine from one patient by signing out 10 times the amount of the drug ordered by a doctor and keeping the excess.

Ten days later, she allegedly signed out 200 milligrams of fentanyl for a patient, administered 25 milligrams and retained the rest.

A week after that, she allegedly took 100 milligrams of fentanyl, gave 25 milligrams to the patient and kept the rest.

Originally charged with three counts of prohibited acts and one count of tampering with records, Pierce agreed to a plea deal that resulted in her conviction on a single count of prohibited acts. She was granted a deferred judgment that will result in the conviction being expunged from her record if she successfully completes her probation.

In 2014 and 2015, Pierce worked at two other hospitals and a care facility where, according to the Iowa Board of Nursing, she allegedly misappropriated patient medications.

In March 2016, she agreed to have her license placed on probation for one year.

Pierce worked for Genesis from November 2015 to June 2016. Nine days after she was hired by the hospital, and six months before the alleged thefts that occurred there, Pierce was criminally charged with theft and prohibited acts stemming from her conduct as a nurse at the Vista Woods nursing home in Ottumwa.

In that case, prosecutors say that in August 2015, Pierce stole a vial of morphine from an emergency kit at Vista Woods.

She initially was charged with theft and prohibited acts but later agreed to a plea deal that resulted in a conviction on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, resulting in a sentence of two years’ unsupervised probation.

In June 2016, Pierce’s employment at Genesis ended and her license was placed on probation. In May 2017, Pierce surrendered her nursing license.

Registered Nurse manipulated the patient’s medical records to increase the patient’s dosages of morphine, so they could steal the morphine.

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Fort Frances nurse has plead guilty to causing the death of one of her patients seven years prior, in 2014. In a Fort Frances courtroom on Monday, 37-year-old Lindsey Coyle of Fort Frances, Ontario, Canada, plead guilty to one count of criminal negligence causing death and one count of failing to comply with a release order related to the death of 76-year-old Hermina Fletcher in 2015. Fletcher was admitted to Fort Frances’ Laverendrye Hospital on December 20, 2014, and described as being critically ill. But despite receiving treatment, she suspiciously died just 15 days later. In an agreed statement of facts presented to the crown, Coyle, who was a 30-year-old Registered Practical Nurse at the time, admitted to manipulating Fletcher’s medical records to increase the patient’s dosages of morphine, so Coyle could steal the morphine and take it herself. Fletcher’s morphine doses are reported to have increased from 2 to 5-milligram doses to 5 to 10 milligrams, and after an autopsy, her cause of death was determined to be morphine toxicity from the additional doses, and not from any natural causes. Eleven days later, members of Laverendrye and its parent company, Riverside Health Facilities Inc, had contacted the OPP with concerns surrounding an amount of morphine that had been reported missing from hospital reserves, but not the death itself. The OPP’s investigation found that more than 700 milligrams of morphine were missing from the hospital, and Coyle was the one signing out the drug. She would later admit to using the drug while on shift. Riverside terminated Coyle’s employment by January 28, 2015. She would later lose her nursing license after an investigation by the Ontario College of Nurses in January 2016. After a four-year investigation into Fletcher’s death, Coyle was eventually charged with second-degree murder, criminal negligence causing death, theft, breach of trust and uttering forged documents in August of 2019. August 29, 2022 – the day of the trial – was the first day that much of this information had ever been released publicly. “It was a really difficult day for the family in court,” said local lawyer Douglas Judson, who represented the Fletcher family in the case, in an interview with Q104, KenoraOnline and DrydenNow. “It was a very hard thing to hear. That was the first time that those facts were really made public. That was a pretty emotional and difficult thing for the surviving family to experience. And what we heard was really disturbing,” adds Judson, noting over 20 members of their family were in attendance. In a prepared statement after Coyle’s conviction, the Fletcher family notes Coyle has been out on bail over the last 7 years, the case has been adjourned and rescheduled 32 times over that span, and all of her remaining charges have been withdrawn. They add that Hermina’s husband, Melvin, died without ever knowing what truly happened to his wife. As well, family members have concerns that Coyle may have struck a ‘deal’ with the Crown Attorney, under which she may only receive a two-year jail sentence. As well, she may be eligible for parole and may not have to serve any time in custody – something the family says isn’t sufficient. “This is one of the most serious crimes to come through a court in Fort Frances,” adds Judson. “It’s important that the sentence reflects the gravity of what’s happened here.” “We have a healthcare professional, in a position of power and authority, committing a crime against a vulnerable person who is in a state of need and who cannot advocate for themselves. Our system needs to very strongly denounce that conduct.” Judson explains that a pre-sentencing report, a document with additional information for the court, has been ordered ahead of a case management appearance in October, and Coyle’s sentencing could potentially still be ‘a few months away.’ In their statement, the Fletcher family says they are continuing legal action in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc., and are seeking a total of $3 million in damages. Judson is once again representing the family. “It raises a lot of questions that people in this community might have about what’s going on in their local hospital. How long was this taking place? When was the hospital aware that these things were happening? Are there other victims out there? All of those questions are very disturbing,” muses Judson. Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc. has not provided a statement in relation to the case.

Massachusetts veterinarian improperly stored controlled substances at his office and residence, and ordered controlled substances without a DEA registration.

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Dedham, Massachusetts veterinarian has agreed to resolve allegations that he maintained inadequate records of controlled substances, improperly stored controlled substances at his office and residence, ordered controlled substances without a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration, and failed to report he was on probation on his DEA registration forms. Wilbur M. Salter, II D.V.M., a veterinarian who practices at Animed Pet Hospital in Dedham, has agreed to pay $15,000 to resolve allegations that he violated the civil remedies provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA was enacted to prevent the diversion or misuse of controlled substances and requires complete and accurate recordkeeping by medical professionals—including veterinarians—and others involved in the distribution and administration of controlled substances. According to the settlement agreement, Dr. Salter admitted that he did not furnish required records with respect to Euthanasia Solution, Ketamine, Diazepam 5mg, Hydrocodone liquid, and Diazepam 1mg in connection with a 2019 DEA audit of controlled substances at his practice. As a result, the investigators found CSA violations with respect to these controlled substances. Dr. Salter also admitted that he stored controlled substances at his residence, but did not register his residence with the DEA; improperly stored Tramadol, a controlled substance, in an unlocked cabinet; ordered a schedule IV controlled substance after he no longer held a DEA registration; and did not report that the Board of Registration in Veterinary Medicine had placed him on probation on his subsequent DEA registration forms, as required. “It is essential that all prescribers—including veterinarians—keep accurate records of controlled substances so that we can identify and prevent any diversion, especially in the midst of a rampant and destructive opioid epidemic,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “We will enforce compliance of these important safeguards.” “The DEA is committed to ensuring that all registrants are in compliance with the required regulations, which are enforceable through the Controlled Substances Act,” said Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA, Boston Division. “Failure to do so increases the potential for diversion and jeopardizes public health and public safety. DEA pledges to work with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure these rules and regulations are followed.” During the investigation, Dr. Salter surrendered his DEA registration number and, as part of the settlement, agreed that he would not seek a new DEA registration number. U.S Attorney Rollins and DEA SAC Boyle made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol E. Head of Rollins’ Civil Division handled the case.

Former detention center nurse was arrested for stealing antibiotics and other non-narcotic medications and giving them to family members.

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Moore County Detention Center nurse was arrested Friday for stealing antibiotics and giving them to family members, according to the sheriff’s office.

Federal agents raided Miami-area pharmacy after investigators uncovered evidence the establishment might be operating the largest opioid pill mill in Florida.

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Federal law enforcement agents raided a Miami-area pharmacy on Tuesday after investigators uncovered evidence the establishment might be operating the largest opioid pill mill in Florida, according to a source familiar with the investigation. A videographer and a Reuters photographer on Tuesday witnessed more than a dozen federal agents, including agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general's office, executing a search warrant at Healthplus Pharmacy in Miramar, Florida. FBI agents were also involved in Tuesday's search, the source told Reuters. The pharmacy, which has been in business since at least 2006, according to HHS records, marks the latest target in the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to crack down on the illegal diversion of prescription painkillers, which have helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic. The U.S. opioid crisis has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths over the past two decades, including more than 80,000 in 2021 alone, according to government data. The court-approved search warrant for Healthplus was obtained based on probable cause that the pharmacy is running the largest pill mill in the state for Oxycontin, a highly addictive painkiller, the source told Reuters, speaking anonymously because the investigation is still not public. A pill mill is a reference to an illegal operation, such as a pharmacy or doctor's office, that regularly prescribes prescriptions for inappropriate or non-medical reasons. Investigators believe at least some of the prescriptions at issue in the probe have been routed through Healthplus by doctors who are not really treating the patients and that the pills are then diverted to the streets, the person said. The source said the pharmacy works with several wholesalers to get its supply of pills, which are believed to be authentic versions of the drug, including one in Florida as well as several others in different states. In recent years the Justice Department has aggressively pursued efforts to prosecute medical professionals to combat opioid prescription abuses, and it has created several strike forces to target illegal prescriptions. State and federal public records show Healthplus Pharmacy is owned or run by Eghosa Uhunmwango and Richard Osaiyuwu. Earlier in the morning on Tuesday, Reuters witnesses saw law enforcement agents also execute search warrants at both their publicly-listed addresses in Miramar. Neither man could be reached for comment.

Georgia MD has agreed to surrender DEA registration for 5 years to resolve allegations that he prescribed controlled substances while his license was suspended.

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Keith Jeffords, M.D., has agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties and refrain from applying for a DEA registration for a period of five years to resolve allegations that he issued prescriptions for controlled substances while his medical license was suspended by the Georgia Composite Medical Board, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The CSA requirements are designed to prevent the diversion of controlled substances and ensure that controlled substances are dispensed and prescribed by authorized individuals. Prior to agreeing that he would not hold a registration for a period of five years, Dr. Jeffords voluntarily surrendered his registration to the DEA. “A suspended medical license means that a doctor cannot write prescriptions for controlled substances, period,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan “When physicians ignore this basic requirement of the Controlled Substances Act, our office will vigorously pursue the violations.” “While in the midst of this country’s prescription opioid epidemic, eliminating physicians who disregard both state and federal licensing requirements and who continue to prescribe opioids is an important part of DEA’s mission,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “This medical doctor surrendered his DEA registration and will refrain from applying for a registration for a period of time and will pay a fine. This case was a success because of the hard work and dedication put forth by DEA and its law enforcement partners.” Keith Jeffords operates a plastic surgery practice in Smyrna, Georgia. Jeffords wrote prescriptions for powerful opioids after the Medical Board summarily suspended his license on November 22, 2021. As part of the settlement, Jeffords acknowledged that he distributed controlled substances in violation of the CSA and its implementing regulations. The CSA was enacted by Congress to deter the illegal importation, manufacture, distribution, possession, and improper use of controlled substances, including prescription medications. The CSA prohibits DEA registrants without a valid state medical license from issuing prescriptions for controlled substances. DEA registrants who issue prescriptions without a valid medical license are subject to civil monetary penalties for each violation. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The civil settlement was reached by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin Hall and Adam Nugent. For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmail@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Denver paramedic indicted on charges of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining fentanyl by deceit.

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Denver Health paramedic was indicted by a grand jury after being accused of stealing 50 vials of fentanyl and tampering with another 20 over the last four years. The paramedic is facing 20 counts of tampering with a consumer product and 38 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by deception. During his employment with Denver Health, the paramedic allegedly stole 50 vials containing 5,000 micrograms of fentanyl between Nov. 5, 2018, and Jan. 12, 2022, claiming the drug was for patient use but kept them for himself, the indictment said. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced on August 22, 2022, that the paramedic was been indicted on charges of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by deceit. According to the indictment, between November 8, 2021, and January 13, 2022, the defendant, with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of bodily injury, and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk, tampered with fentanyl, by removing fentanyl from 20 vials and replacing it with another substance. The indictment also states between November 5, 2018 and January 12, 2022, the defendant obtained fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge, by misrepresenting that a vial or vials of fentanyl were used for a patient, when in fact the defendant acquired and obtained the fentanyl for himself. “In January 2022, Denver Health became aware of a possible drug theft involving a Denver Health paramedic. We immediately notified the proper authorities and conducted an internal investigation. At the conclusion of our investigation, the paramedic was terminated,” a statement from Denver Health said. Denver Health said in a statement that it was made aware in January of the potential theft and pending charges and immediately launched an investigation. The paramedic was fired after authorities completed the internal investigation. “Our internal investigation found that no patients were harmed, and no patients went without medication because of the individual’s actions. While we had internal safeguards in place prior to this incident, we have enhanced protocols regarding control of opioids,” Denver Health’s statement said.

An Iowa hospital has been cited by the state for hiring, without a full background check, a nurse later fired for the suspected theft of opioid narcotics.

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

An eastern Iowa hospital has been cited by the state for hiring, without a full background check, a nurse who was later fired for the suspected theft of opioid narcotics. The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals reports that in January a registered nurse working at Iowa City’s Mercy Hospital procured a 100-microgram vial of Fentanyl – a powerful opioid used to treat severe pain – for a patient and then reported disposing of the medication 90 minutes later without having administered any of it. The patient in question had no physician order for Fentanyl. Twelve days later, the same nurse procured another 100-microgram vial of Fentanyl for a different patient who had no physician order for the drug. The hospital records indicate that patient never received the Fentanyl and there’s no indication of what happened to it. A single high dose of Fentanyl is considered to be in the range of 20 to 50 micrograms. Both incidents were treated as “suspicious” by the hospital and the nurse was later fired. However, according to state inspectors, the hospital failed to report the incidents to the Department of Inspections and Appeals as potential acts of dependent adult abuse. State inspectors reviewed the hiring process used last fall to employ the nurse and found that Mercy Hospital had failed to conduct a complete background check on the individual. An initial check by a third-party agency revealed the nurse had two criminal convictions, although the publicly available inspection reports don’t indicate what the convictions were for or how serious the crimes were. After the convictions were discovered, the hospital failed to secure the required state approval to hire the nurse and she was added to the staff. At the same time, the hospital also failed to check the whether the nurse had any non-criminal findings of abuse on their record and failed to check whether the nurse was on the state’s Sex Offender Registry. Although the state has cited the hospital for two regulatory violations related to patient abuse and employee background checks, no fines or penalties have been imposed. Under Iowa law, hospitals are not subject to state fines for regulatory violations.

New Hampshire nurse is alleged to have admitted to diverting hydromorphone for personal use repeatedly over the course of a few months.

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On over 1,000 occasions spanning nearly a decade, patients were unwittingly injected with cheaper, foreign Orthovisc that had not been approved by the FDA.

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber on August 25, 2022 sentenced a doctor from Town and Country, Missouri to a year in prison for a health care fraud scheme and ordered he and his wife to repay $235,977. On over 1,000 occasions spanning nearly a decade, Dr. Abdul Naushad, 58, and Wajiha Naushad, 47, had their unwitting patients injected with cheaper, foreign Orthovisc that had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman said in court. The Naushads betrayed the trust of elderly and impoverished patients to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a $2 million mansion, two vacation houses and four luxury cars, Wiseman said. FDA-approved Orthovisc, which is sold by authorized distributors in the United States, comes in a pre-filled syringe. It is injected into the knee to relieve osteoarthritis pain and is available only by prescription. The Naushads concealed their actions from patients, employees and publicly-funded health insurance programs by, among other things, stonewalling questions from their chief of purchasing. After a shipment of foreign, unapproved injections was seized by the FDA, the Naushads had the next shipment sent to their home. Wajiha Naushad lied to her compliance officer and friend by telling her the injections came from a distributor in the U.S., and fraudulently persuaded the compliance officer that the Orthovisc had a required National Drug Code number. A jury in April convicted the couple of one conspiracy count and one count of health care fraud. Wajiha Naushad was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation. “Injectable unapproved medical devices that are smuggled from unknown foreign sources and come from outside the secure supply chain can present a serious health risk to patients who receive them,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead with the Kansas City Field Office of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. “Not only are the device components completely unknown, the conditions under which they are manufactured and held are outside the regulatory scrutiny of the legitimate supply chain. We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who traffic in illegal unapproved medical products,” he said. Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said, “The Naushads went to significant lengths to conceal their repeated use of and billing for a medication that they did not actually provide to patients. In addition to the defendants misleading patients and staff about the substance used for these injections, the Naushads deceived federal health care programs into reimbursing for a more expensive medication than was used. For HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners, ceasing fraudulent activity that targets these programs is a top priority.” The Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek Wiseman and Dorothy McMurtry prosecuted the case.

Chief flight nurse for the Florida Keys Trauma Star helicopter suspended following “discrepancies” found in the air ambulance’s controlled substance logs.

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The chief flight nurse for the Florida Keys Trauma Star helicopter was suspended following “discrepancies” found in the air ambulance’s controlled substance logs, Monroe County announced Tuesday.

California doctor arrested after prescribing opioids to undercover agents. Pharmacies in Sacramento called in tips about his suspicious prescribing practices.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Modesto, California physician,

North Carolina pharmacists filled prescriptions for opioids while disregarding obvious indications of drug abuse, drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A federal court entered a consent decree enjoining an Asheboro, North Carolina, pharmacy and its two pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking specific steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted and ordering them to pay $300,000 in civil penalties, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina announced on 7/13/22. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed by the United States on July 7, alleging that Asheboro Drug Company, and its pharmacists Isaac F. Brady III and Isaac F. Brady IV, a father and son, filled prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The complaint alleges that the defendants dispensed prescription opioids while disregarding numerous “red flags” – that is, obvious indications of drug abuse, drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior. For example, according to the complaint, the defendants filled prescriptions for dangerous combinations of drugs known to be sought by drug abusers and which significantly increase the risk of overdose; filled high-dose opioid prescriptions on a long-term basis; and filled prescriptions for patients who appeared to have “shopped” for doctors willing to prescribe controlled substances. The complaint alleged that the defendants also dispensed, at times, the same or similar prescriptions for multiple members of the same family, refilled prescriptions early without justification, and turned a blind eye to prescriptions from doctors who repeatedly wrote suspect prescriptions. “The Department of Justice will not hesitate to act when a pharmacy disregards its responsibilities and puts patients at risk,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Pharmacists have a duty to ensure that opioids and other controlled substances are distributed lawfully.” “Opioid addiction and abuse continue to devastate North Carolina communities,” said U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston for the Middle District of North Carolina. “Pharmacists play a key role in preventing diversion of controlled substances, and they have a legal responsibility to ensure that the prescriptions they fill are legitimate. Our office will continue to pursue dispensers and prescribers who fail to live up to their obligations under the Controlled Substances Act.” “The law requires pharmacists to ensure that the prescriptions they dispense are for a legitimate medical purposes and are issued by prescribers acting in the usual course of their professional practice,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Murphy of the DEA Atlanta Field Division. “Pharmacists are not simply pill-counters. The penalty and injunction in this case serves notice that DEA will not turn a blind eye when pharmacists shirk their duty by ignoring red flags of abuse and diversion.” Asheboro Drug and its pharmacists cooperated with the government’s investigation and agreed to pay the $300,000 civil monetary penalty and be bound by the consent decree of injunction. The injunction entered by U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles of the Middle District of North Carolina prohibits the defendants from filling certain “red flag” prescriptions and requires the defendants to fill other orders only after receiving documentation justifying the prescriptions. The government was represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Donald R. Lorenzen of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassie Crawford for the Middle District of North Carolina, with substantial assistance from Diversion Investigator Heidi Crater of the DEA Greensboro Resident Office’s Diversion Group.

Registered nurse obtained fentanyl and hydromorphone by entering fraudulent verbal orders into the EMR on behalf of physicians who didn't issue the orders.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former registered nurse who worked in the Emergency Department at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital (SMJH) in Charlottesville, pled guilty today to obtaining controlled substances, fentanyl, and hydromorphone, by fraud. Angelica Franklin, 36, of Chesterfield, Virginia, waived her right to be indicted and pled guilty today to one count of acquiring or obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation by fraud, forgery, or deception. According to court documents, Franklin was a registered nurse with the Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Nursing. On August 16, 2021, she began working in the Emergency Department of SMJH in Charlottesville. Franklin admitted today that in September 2021, she knowingly and intentionally entered fraudulent verbal orders for fentanyl and hydromorphone into the SMJH electronic medical records system on behalf of physicians who did not issue the verbal orders. Franklin then obtained the fentanyl and hydromorphone from the SMJH automated dispensing cabinet but did not administer the controlled substances to patients. In addition, Franklin admitted to unlawfully obtaining controlled substances fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and alprazolam while working as a nurse at three Richmond-area health care facilities: Stony Point Surgery Center, Vibra Hospital, and The Laurels of Willow Creek. In total, across all facilities, Franklin unlawfully obtained approximately 4,450 mcg of fentanyl, 80 mg of hydromorphone, 3,600 mg of oxycodone, and 14 mg of alprazolam. Franklin is scheduled to be sentenced on November 10, 2022 and faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Washington Division Special Agent in Charge Jarod A. Forget, Richmond District Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Metro Washington Field Office Special Agent in Charge George A. Scavdis of the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI). The DEA, FDA-OCI, Virginia State Police, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Virginia Department of Health Professionals are investigating the case. Assistant Chief Alexis Gregorian of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald M. Huber are prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia provided valuable assistance.

Registered nurse obtained fentanyl and hydromorphone by entering fraudulent verbal orders into the EMR on behalf of physicians who didn't issue the orders.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Registered nurse obtained fentanyl and hydromorphone by entering fraudulent verbal orders into the EMR on behalf of physicians who didn't issue the orders.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Registered nurse obtained fentanyl and hydromorphone by entering fraudulent verbal orders into the EMR on behalf of physicians who didn't issue the orders.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A registered nurse in a neural ICU removed injectable fentanyl from syringes and replaced the drug with saline, then glued the plastic tampering caps back on.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On 7/20/22, Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Monique Elizabeth Carter (36, Middleburg) to one year and one day in federal prison for tampering with a consumer product, specifically, injectable fentanyl. The court further ordered that after serving her prison sentence, Carter will serve one year of home detention as a condition of a two-year term of supervised release. During this time, Carter will also be prohibited from working in any position in which she would have access to prescribed medications. Carter had pleaded guilty on April 13, 2022. According to court documents, Carter is a registered nurse who had previously been employed by a hospital in Jacksonville. She worked in a neural intensive care unit or ICU, which is a specialized unit that provides intensive and specialized care to critically ill patients with life-threatening neurological problems. Certain ICU patients were prescribed intravenous doses of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used as a pain medication and as anesthesia. After Carter’s shift on September 28, 2021, a hospital pharmacist examined the ICU wing’s inventory of fentanyl and found a fentanyl syringe with a tamper-proof cap missing, but with some form of foreign adhesive remaining at the tip. A second fentanyl syringe had a cap that appeared to have been glued back on. After reviewing hospital records, a pharmacist supervisor noted a pattern of Carter checking out doses of fentanyl for patients, but then cancelling the transactions and checking syringes back into the hospital’s inventory. Records showed that Carter did so 24 times between August 29 and September 28, 2021. Carter was the only nurse on her ICU wing who persistently checked out fentanyl and returned it to the hospital’s inventory. The next day, when Carter arrived for work, hospital representatives interviewed her. Confronted with the pharmacists’ findings, Carter eventually admitted that—to obtain drugs for personal use at home—she had been removing injectable fentanyl from syringes, replacing the drug with saline, and then gluing the plastic tampering caps back on the syringes with an adhesive that she obtained from the hospital. She admitted that she had been tampering with fentanyl syringes since the summer of 2021. Carter denied injecting fentanyl while on duty at the hospital, but in her bag, law enforcement investigators later located needles, saline syringes, and adhesive. Carter is a trained healthcare professional and knew that her activities likely resulted in critically ill patients receiving diluted fentanyl, which was not safe and effective. Having been deprived of sterile, medically necessary medication, such patients were exposed to possible infection and endured unnecessary pain and suffering. In addition, Carter knew that the failure to anesthetize or control pain in ICU patients can result in increased risks of illness or death, stemming from, among other things, respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal complications. This case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office – Pharmaceutical Diversion and Designer Drug Unit attached to the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

A Minneapolis woman added water to morphine sulfate and returned the diluted bottle to the Drug Cabinet, where it was held to fill customer prescriptions.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Minneapolis woman has pleaded guilty to misappropriating and adulterating prescription morphine while working as a pharmacist, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to court documents, on October 30, 2019, Jennifer Lee Draheim, 42, a pharmacist at Coburn’s Pharmacy in Ramsey, removed a bottle of morphine sulfate from the Scheduled Drug Cabinet and poured a quantity of the morphine from the stock bottle into a small container for her own personal use. She added water to the bottle to replace the morphine she took, thereby reducing the drug’s quality and strength. Draheim returned the diluted bottle of morphine to the Scheduled Drug Cabinet, where it was held in the pharmacy’s inventory for the purpose of filling customer prescriptions. “The FDA oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that it is safe and effective, and those who knowingly adulterate medicines put patients’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to protect the public health and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique position and compromise their patients’ health and comfort.” “The diversion of pharmaceuticals is a dangerous path that can lead to addiction, overdose and even death,” DEA Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Justin C. King said. “We take diversion seriously as it impacts the person misusing the medication and also those for whom the prescription was intended. In this case, Jennifer Draheim’s actions put her life in danger and also affected those who were in need of morphine sulfate but instead received a tainted, watered-down medication. We applaud Coborn’s Inc., for alerting authorities to the diversion and our partners in the FDA for their work on this investigation.” Draheim pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel to one count of adulteration of a drug. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time. This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren O. Roso is prosecuting the case. The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy took the following disciplinary actions involving a pharmacist at its July 2020 meeting: On or around December 27, 2019, while working as a pharmacist at a pharmacy location, Licensee diverted four tablets of hydrocodone-acetaminophen 5-325mg for personal use from a prescription she was tasked with verifying. Pharmacy video footage captured Licensee opening the bottle and removing a number of the pills followed by Licensee placing them in her lab coat pocket. Pharmacy video footage from September 2019 through February 2020 further captured over two dozen instances of Licensee diverting prescription medications from both stock dispensing and filled prescription bottles. Licensee was captured on video removing pills from containers, removing pills from containers and ingesting them, and ingesting oral solutions directly from stock prescription dispensing containers. Licensee also refilled bottles with unknown substances in order to disguise medication shortages caused by her diversion. Licensee also was captured on video diverting products from the sales floor. On or around January 30, 2020, Licensee’s pharmacy employer terminated Licensee’s employment for these actions. Consequently, the Board issued a Stipulation and Consent Order for Voluntary Surrender.

A medical director, operator and two unlicensed practitioners at a Texas clinic submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid and Medicare for services not provided.

Mon, 22 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A medical director, operator and two unlicensed practitioners at a Texas medical clinic are now in custody on charges related to their alleged participation in a $32 million health care fraud scheme.

Complaint alleges that clinic owners ignored signs of abuse, and drug toxicity played a role in the deaths of individuals who received controlled substances.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The United States filed a civil complaint seeking to permanently enjoin the owners of a Tampa-area clinic and pharmacy from unlawfully dispensing opioids and other controlled substances, the Department of Justice announced today. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the government alleges that Dr. Tobias Bacaner, Theodore Ferguson II, and Timothy Ferguson used Paragon Community Healthcare Inc., to unlawfully issue controlled substance prescriptions, and Cobalt Pharmacy Inc., to unlawfully fill controlled substance prescriptions, all in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint alleges that the defendants ignored obvious signs of abuse or diversion when issuing and filling opioid prescriptions. The complaint also alleges that drug toxicity played a role in the deaths of several individuals who received controlled substances from the defendants. “The opioid addiction epidemic continues to devastate communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners will hold accountable those who illegally distribute and dispense opioids.” “The illicit proliferation and abuse of opioids, by any means, remains a growing threat to communities across the country,” said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. “When these means include the breach of trust and illegal conduct of medical professionals, for profit, it is even more disturbing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with its partners to investigate and prosecute those who violate their oath and put the public at risk.” “DEA will not tolerate individuals who seek to profit from addiction and prey on vulnerable populations,” said Acting Administrator D. Christopher Evans of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “We will use every tool at our disposal to stop and bring to justice those who willfully endanger others and exacerbate the opioid epidemic.” The complaint alleges that Bacaner, a medical doctor licensed in Florida, wrote prescriptions for potent and dangerous opioids outside the usual course of professional practice. The complaint alleges that Bacaner and his business partners, Theodore and Timothy Ferguson, profited from unlawful prescribing at the Fergusons’ cash-only pain clinic, Paragon Community Healthcare, and that patients from Paragon often took those same prescriptions to the defendants’ jointly owned pharmacy, Cobalt Pharmacy. The complaint seeks civil penalties as well as a permanent injunction against the defendants. The claims made in the complaint are merely allegations that the United States must prove if the case proceeds to trial. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsay S. Griffin, and Trial Attorney Scott Dahlquist of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch. The investigation is being conducted by the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in the Tampa District Office.

Alabama supervisory paramedic tampered with approximately 129 vials of fentanyl citrate, replacing diverted fentanyl with saline.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On February 8, 2021, federal judge sentenced a supervisory paramedic for theft of fentanyl from a local ambulance service, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Special Agent in Charge Justin C. Fielder, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office. U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Michael Greenhaw, 43, of Arab, to 51 months in prison. Greenhaw pleaded guilty to on one-count of tampering with a consumer product in October 2019. “Greenhaw put vulnerable patients in grave danger by replacing fentanyl citrate with saline in vials that he knew were intended to be administered to critically ill or injured patients,” said U.S. Attorney Escalona. “Greenhaw’s criminal conduct undermines the tireless efforts of first responders who work hard to make sure that patients receive the necessary emergency medical care.” “The FDA is fully committed to the vigorous criminal prosecution of any individual who threatens the safety and security of the U.S. drug supply and compromises patient health and comfort,” said Justin C. Fielder, Special Agent in Charge, FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “The sentencing in this case should send a clear signal that this kind of illicit tampering activity will not be tolerated.” According to the plea agreement, Greenhaw tampered with approximately 129 vials of fentanyl citrate from April 2018 through August 2018, while employed as a supervisory paramedic at First Response Ambulance Service in Decatur, Alabama. Greenhaw had access to the narcotics vault where the fentanyl was stored. During his shift, Greenhaw removed fentanyl citrate from vials using a syringe and replaced the fentanyl with saline. The vials filled with saline were placed back into the narcotics safe. Greenhaw stole the fentanyl for personal use. U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations Miami Field Office investigated the case, along with the Decatur Police Department and Arab Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell prosecuted the case.

Doctors obtained oxycodone and other opioids and received kickbacks, defrauding Medicare and Medicaid out of $4,704,568 for prescription drugs and drug tests.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

United States District Judge Henry E. Autrey sentenced Denis Mikhlin to 108 months in prison on February 5, 2021. The judge also ordered Mikhlin to pay restitution. The 41-year-old St. Louis County, Missouri resident pleaded guilty, in August, to four felony counts of conspiracy, obtaining oxycodone and other opioid drugs by fraud and deceit, receiving illegal kickbacks in return for sending urine specimens to Central Diagnostic Laboratory for medically unnecessary testing, and causing the Medicare and Medicaid programs to pay $4,704,568 for medically unnecessary prescription drugs and drug tests. Mikhlin conspired with Dr. Jerry Leech and others to issue and distribute illegal prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances to patients. Mikhlin and his co-conspirators knew the patients did not have a legitimate medical need for drugs and instead were abusing the drugs or selling them. Additionally, Mikhlin recruited individuals and paid them for the use of their names on the fraudulent prescriptions. Once the prescriptions were filled, some of the drugs were returned to Mikhlin and the rest were kept by the individuals or sold to others. To conceal this illegal activity, Mikhlin and others created patient files, falsely indicating the patients had been examined by the prescribing doctors and the patients were regularly monitored and tested. On February 2, 2021, co-defendant Dr. Jerry Leech pleaded guilty to four felony counts for his actions related to this conspiracy and fraud scheme. His sentencing is scheduled for May 11, 2021. Co-defendants Erin Herman, Vladimir Kogan, Ebony Price, Tijuana Spates, and Erica Spates have also pleaded guilty. All are scheduled for sentencing in May 2021. The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Missouri Attorney’s General Office and the U.S. Department of Defense. Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy McMurtry is handling the case.

Clinic owner and CEO sentenced to federal prison after laundering money in connection with a “pill mill” illegally dispensing massive amounts of drugs.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Garden City, Ga., clinic owner and CEO has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting she laundered money in connection with a notorious “pill mill” doctor who illegally dispensed massive amounts of drugs. Jamesetta Whipple-Duncan, 59, of Savannah, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of Money Laundering, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood also ordered Whipple-Duncan to pay $86,074 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release after completion of her prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. “This sentence holds accountable yet another instrumental figure who helped pour gasoline on the raging fire of the opioid addiction crisis,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to bring to justice those who exacerbate drug addictions in our community, whether they stand or street corners or dress in lab coats.” As described in the plea agreement and other court documents, Whipple, as owner of the now-closed Georgia Laboratory Diagnostics LLC, in Garden City, Ga., was an employer of Dr. Frank Bynes Jr., 69, of Savannah. Bynes was sentenced in February 2020 to 240 months in prison and ordered to pay $615,145 in restitution to Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare after being found guilty by a federal jury on 13 counts of Unlawful Dispensation of Controlled Substances and three counts of Health Care Fraud. For Whipple-Duncan’s role, she owned and operated the clinic, hired Dr. Bynes, and then profited as her clinic provided Bynes with a base of operation from which he illegally distributed controlled substances, including highly addictive opioids and drug cocktails favored by addicts. Whipple-Duncan controlled the finances of the clinic, which largely consisted of cash from the clinic’s patients. Whipple-Duncan used that cash to continue operations of the clinic, and to finance expenditures for herself, including a Mercedes-Benz sedan, a Hummer H2, a Can-Am Spyder, and a Polaris Slingshot. “Denying deceitful medical providers the opportunity to improperly prescribe highly-addictive pills is a key priority for the DEA,” said Robert J. Murphy, the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “This investigation was a success thanks to collaboration with local law enforcement.” “In the midst of this country’s prescription opioid epidemic, it is the FBI’s goal to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute anyone who recklessly overprescribes pharmaceutical pills, especially for non-medical reasons,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Whipple-Duncan’s actions directly contributed to the opioid crisis in our community and for that she is being held accountable.” “Aiding in the illegal prescription of large amounts of drugs both undermines critical measures to address the opioid crisis and also puts patients at serious risk of overdose and other forms of physical harm,” said Tamala Miles, Special Agent in Charge at the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable bad actors who exploit opioid addiction for personal financial gain.” “The opioid addiction crisis in this country deeply affects the military members as well as their families,” stated Special Agent in Charge Cynthia A. Bruce, Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. “The selfishness of Whipple-Duncan represents another reprehensible side of this crisis where greed outweighs the humanity towards those struggling with addiction. DCIS will continue to work closely with our investigative partners to hold those responsible who advance the opioid crisis for their own personal gain.” The case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and an investigator with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Whipple-Duncan is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan A. Porter and Patrick J. Schwedler.

Anchorage doctor provided prescriptions for fentanyl and oxycodone in exchange for meperidine, also prescribed by the doctor without legitimate medical need.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced on January 6, 2021, that U.S. District Court Judge Sharon L. Gleason sentenced Michael Don Robertson, 68, a former Anchorage psychiatrist, to 12 months home confinement and 5 years of probation for conspiracy to commit controlled substance fraud and one count of health care fraud. Robertson knowingly and intentionally distributed controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. According to court documents, from May 2015 to March 2018, Robertson issued 465 prescriptions of meperidine to 30 different recipients, totaling 32,109 meperidine pills, knowing that the recipients did not truly need the medication for a legitimate medical purpose. The investigation revealed that Robertson issued the meperidine prescriptions as part of a conspiracy in which the recipients filled the meperidine prescriptions and, then, distributed the meperidine to Robertson. In exchange for the recipients diverting the meperidine to Robertson, Robertson provided prescriptions for controlled substances, including fentanyl and oxycodone, to the recipients. Meperidine, commonly known as Demerol, is a Schedule II controlled substance, and is an opioid with an abuse liability similar to morphine. The investigation further revealed that Robertson failed to make and preserve accurate records regarding approximately 790 prescriptions for controlled substances and failed to keep any medical records whatsoever regarding five patients to whom he wrote prescriptions for controlled substances. In a scheme to obtain money from Medicaid, Robertson caused claims to be submitted to Medicaid regarding these 790 prescriptions, resulting in Medicaid paying $3,286.87 to Robertson’s medical practice. Further, Medicaid paid $3,601.52 to pharmacies for these 790 controlled substance prescriptions. Robertson pleaded guilty to the charges on July 31, 2019. At sentencing on January 6, 2021, Robertson apologized to the people that he involved in the scheme, the medical profession, and his family. Robertson surrendered his medical license and DEA Registration after being questioned by law enforcement. The Court held that 12 months of home incarceration was appropriate due the COVID pandemic and the need to impose a just sentence due to the severity of the crime, while also avoiding disparity with sentences for other similar drug crimes. In addition to the 12-month home confinement, Robertson was ordered to complete 5 years of probation and pay restitution in the amount of $6,888.39 to Medicaid to reimburse the cost of the illegally prescribed drugs. United States Attorney Bryan Schroder commended the law enforcement team that investigated this case. “This conviction is a reminder that COVID is not the only pandemic confronting America and Alaska; fighting the opioid epidemic remains an important priority for the Department of Justice. Federal law enforcement investigates and prosecutes unlawful drug distribution, including that crime committed by doctors.” The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG), the State of Alaska Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution in this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonas M. Walker.

Home caregiver turned herself in to narcotics agents after an investigation showed she switched oxycodone-acetaminophen pills meant for patients with Tylenol.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A home caregiver is charged in Altoona after state narcotics investigators say she took pain pills prescribed for her client and replaced them with over-the-counter Tylenol.

A former nurse is facing up to two years in prison after law-enforcement said she used a patient's painkillers.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former nurse who worked at the Meadows at East Mountain is facing up to two years in prison after law-enforcement said she took a card of painkillers intended for a patient and used them herself because of a drug addiction.

Former technicians at a Chicago pharmacy sentenced to federal prison for stealing thousands of pills of hydrocodone and selling them for a profit.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former technician at a Chicago pharmacy has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for stealing thousands of pills of hydrocodone and selling them for a profit. ELIZABETH CRUZ worked at Allcare Discount Pharmacy, located in the 2700 block of West North Avenue in Chicago. From October 2015 to December 2017, Cruz and a co-defendant, JACQUELINE GREEN, conspired to steal approximately 56,108 pills of hydrocodone and sell them outside the pharmacy. Cruz and Green received at least $10,800 in proceeds from the sale of the stolen pills. Cruz concealed the theft by falsifying the pharmacy’s inventory to make it look like the pills had either not been received from the distributor or had been dispensed to patients. Cruz, 35, of Stone Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman imposed the prison sentence Wednesday in federal court in Chicago. “The opioid epidemic has inflicted an unprecedented toll of suffering in Chicago and throughout the country,” said John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “The defendants in this case contributed to this crisis by making opiates available on the street to individuals who otherwise would not have access to them. Our office will continue to actively attack the opioid crisis from all investigative and prosecutorial angles.” The investigation was conducted by the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “When trusted pharmacy employees illegally divert powerful and addictive pain medications for misuse, they put individuals and their families at increased risk of drug dependence and overdose,” said Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the DEA Chicago Field Division. “This strong prison sentence is recognition of the seriousness of the opioid crisis. The DEA will continue to aggressively bring all resources to bear, unilaterally and in cooperation with prosecutors and law enforcement partners, to save lives in the midst of the opioid epidemic.” Green, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to the same charge as Cruz. Judge Guzman in July sentenced Green to a year and a day in federal prison. The government in this case was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nani M. Gilkerson and David Rojas.

Pharmacist accused of diverting opioids admitted to unlawfully dispensing an opioid and obtaining personal opioid prescriptions by fraud or forgery.

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On July 30, 2020, an Ennis pharmacist accused of diverting opioids today admitted to unlawfully dispensing an opioid and obtaining personal opioid prescriptions by fraud or forgery, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. Bradley John Stoick, 70, of Hailey, Idaho, pleaded guilty to dispensing a controlled substance by a practitioner and to acquiring or obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge. Stoick faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Stoick was released pending further proceedings. Sentencing was set for Nov. 19. "It is critical that pharmacists and other licensed providers comply with the law when dispensing all drugs, especially opioids. When a health care professional, like Mr. Stoick, abuses his position to divert and steal opioids, he will be prosecuted," U.S. Attorney Alme said. The prosecution said in court records that Stoick was the pharmacist-in-charge of Ennis Pharmacy in Ennis. In 2019, Drug Enforcement Administration investigators conducted a routine administrative inspection of Ennis Pharmacy and discovered numerous prescriptions for Stoick for Norco 10-325mg, a drug which contains Hydrocodone, a powerful opioid and a Schedule II controlled substance. Stoick filled those prescriptions for himself as the on-duty pharmacist. The doctor whose name and signature were on those prescriptions never saw Stoick as a patient and did not issue any of those prescriptions. In addition, computer records at the pharmacy showed that Stoick altered a prescription for a friend. He modified the strength of the prescription from Norco 5-325mg up to Norco 10-325mg, which contains twice as much Hydrocodone. He also increased the amount of the prescription from 45 pills to 120 pills. Stoick then filled the prescription himself and mailed it to his friend in Utah. In a separate civil case settled earlier this month, Ennis Pharmacy agreed to pay a $125,000 fine and make several changes to its operating procedures. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Kakuk is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the DEA.

Over the course of a two-year period, the doctor prescribed more than 4,200 10mg oxycodone pills to a patient and bought them back.

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Lincoln doctor and his patient were sentenced on Tuesday for an illegal drug scheme. Dr. Keith Hughes, 56, and Colby Digilio, 34, of Valparaiso, began being investigated in January 2020. The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office had received a tip that Hughes was prescribing a large number of oxycodone pills to Digilio. Between April 2018 and July 2020, Hughes prescribed a total of 4,232 10 mg oxycodone pills over 63 prescriptions, according to the Department of Justice. Hughes was using Digilio to buy back the pills for personal use. In exchange, Digilio was paid in cash, sports tickets and sports memorabilia.

Hughes was an orthopedic surgeon. His license has since been revoked by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Both men were sentenced for obtaining oxycodone by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge by obtaining prescriptions of oxycodone for personal use. United States District Judge John Gerrard sentenced Hughes to five years of probation and ordered him to pay a $20,000 fine. Digilio was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.

A Chicago physician prescribed opioids to patients without a medical examination or visit and then fraudulently billed Medicare for the nonexistent treatment.

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A suburban Chicago physician prescribed opioids to patients without a medical examination or visit and then fraudulently billed Medicare for the nonexistent treatment, according to a criminal charge filed in federal court.

Doctor's medical license suspended and DEA registration revoked after prescribing controlled substances for patients and himself without a legitimate purpose.

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On March 3, 2022, DEA Chicago Diversion Investigators served an Immediate Suspension Order on

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Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Colorado Medical Board revoked the license of a Julie Lynn Halling, a doctor, effective on 2/19/2021. The found the doctor had prescribed a family member multiple controlled substances, including Alprazolam (“Xanax”), Ambien, and Hydrocodone Acetaminophen (“Norco”) Their findings of fact noted Halling did not discuss or document discussing the danger of taking both Xanax and Ambien at the same time with Patient A, nor did she discourage or document discouraging Patient A from doing this. Halling did not discuss or document discussing the danger of consuming alcohol while taking Xanax and Ambien. The DEA subsequently revoked the doctor's DEA License on 6/27/22, effective 30 days later.

A pharmacist and pharmacy owner pleaded guilty to filling fraudulent and counterfeit prescriptions for oxycodone and codeine in exchange for cash.

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A pharmacist and pharmacy owner pleaded guilty on 6/28/22 to violating the Controlled Substances Act by filling fraudulent and counterfeit prescriptions in exchange for cash, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Anthony Duncan, 61, of Hillside, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone and codeine. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Duncan was a licensed pharmacist who owned and operated Parkway Central Pharmacy in East Orange, New Jersey. Duncan’s conspirators obtained bogus prescriptions for controlled substances, including oxycodone and codeine. They brought those bogus prescriptions to Duncan at Parkway Central, who filled the prescriptions knowing that they were false or counterfeit and that he was prohibited from dispensing controlled substances without a valid prescription. Duncan accepted cash payments from his conspirators in exchange for filling the fraudulent and counterfeit prescriptions and dispensing controlled substances. He was generally paid $4 for every oxycodone 30mg pill; $2 for every oxycodone and acetaminophen combination product; and $10 for every eight ounces of cough syrup containing codeine. From November 2014 through November 2018, Duncan filled more than 1,100 false or counterfeit prescriptions for controlled substances. He illegally sold to one conspirator at least 47,000 tablets of Oxycodone 30 mg; 46,000 tablets of oxycodone and acetaminophen combination product; and 56,000 milliliters of cough syrup containing codeine. The count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute oxycodone and codeine is punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, or twice the gross profit to the defendant, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2022. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hayden M. Brockett of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.

A former EMT paramedic pleads guilty of tampering with liquid fentanyl vials at the ambulance company at which she worked.

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Massachusetts emergency medical technician (EMT) paramedic has pleaded guilty to tampering with liquid fentanyl vials at the ambulance company at which she worked. Candice Mangan, 43, of Medford, pleaded guilty on Aug. 30, 2022 in federal court in Boston to one count of tampering with a consumer product. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Dec. 7, 2022. Mangan was charged on June 24, 2022. From approximately March 2020 to early October 2020, Mangan – a licensed EMT paramedic in Massachusetts – worked part-time as an EMT for an ambulance service company in Massachusetts. On or about Sept. 30, 2020, while working in Needham, Mangan tampered with three fentanyl citrate vials by removing fentanyl citrate and replacing it with saline. The liquid remaining in the three vials contained only approximately 4.4%, 6.8%, and 24.2% of the declared concentration of fentanyl citrate. “The grave consequences of the opioid crisis extend far beyond street level dealing of heroin and fentanyl, which continues at an alarming pace. Almost every one of the 15 units in the Criminal and Civil Divisions of this Office are handling matters relating to the opioid epidemic,” said United States Attorney Rachael Rollins. “Aside from the obvious opioid related matters handled by our narcotics and organized crime units, we are also prosecuting human trafficking and health care fraud as well as civil rights government fraud and public corruption cases all directly pertaining to opioids. There is no higher priority in my office than doing everything in our power, using every option available on both the civil and criminal sides of this office, to keep people and communities safe from these deadly destructive substances.” “The FDA oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that it is safe and effective, and those who knowingly tamper with medicines put patients’ health at risk,” said Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office. “We will continue to protect the public health and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique position and compromise their patients’ health and comfort by tampering with needed drugs.” The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences in a criminal case are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. U.S. Attorney Rollins, FDA SAC McMillan and Margret R. Cooke, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Locker of Rollins’ Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

Towards the end of the day the head pharmacist began preparing prescriptions for the next day but noticed some Co-Codamol and Methadone were missing.

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A teenager has been told to clean up his act after he was caught stealing vital medication on just the second day of a new job. "It's way too early for you to be in the box," magistrate Joe Bangudu told 18-year-old Shane Worsley as he appeared before Tameside Magistrates Court yesterday (June 22). On February 22 this year Worsley started the second day of a trial period working at Cale Green Pharmacy, on Shaw Heath, Stockport. Towards the end of the day the head pharmacist began preparing prescriptions for the next day but noticed some Co-Codamol and Methadone were missing. A search took place, but Worsley did not take part as he said he needed to leave so he would not miss his train. Prosecuting, Gareth Hughes, said that CCTV was later checked and showed Worsley taking the drugs, including around 20 tablets of Co-codamol, and putting them in his trousers. The next morning as he arrived for work, police arrested him. The court heard that he immediately admitted he had taken the drugs, and that he took them for himself to treat depression. Worsley also pleaded guilty at the first given opportunity. The manager of the pharmacy said in a victim impact statement that they felt 'deceived' by what Worsley had done as he had come across as 'eager' to learn about the job. They said they felt 'let down' by his actions and he potentially put patients 'at risk' by taking away vital medication. Mitigating, Howard Bernstein, admitted this was a breach of trust and 'invariably an offence of greed'. "Worsley knows how serious it is," he added. Worsley had no previous convictions prior to this and is remorseful for his actions, the court heard. Sentencing Worsley to a community order and unpaid work, Mr Bangudu gave him a stark warning not to return. "Your age concerns us and to see you here in the box. It doesn't feel nice does it? "I want you to make a conscious decision not to come back here. It's way too early for you to be in the box (dock)." Worsley was handed a two month community order and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work for theft by an employee. He was also ordered to do 20 rehabilitation days and pay £180 in fees.

The veterinarian pleaded guilty to adulteration of a drug and distribution of a controlled substance without a written prescription.

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former veterinarian, who admitted to stealing opioids, was sentenced today to eight months in federal prison. Patrick Gries, 54, of Madison Heights, Virginia, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to one count of adulteration of a drug held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce and one count of distribution of a controlled substance without a written prescription. “When health care professionals put the well-being of others at risk, they violate the trust placed in them by the public and will be held accountable. My Office will continue to prioritize these cases throughout the Western District of Virginia,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said on June 22, 2022. “Health care professionals, including veterinarians, who take needed medications from their patients not only harm the patients but also put at risk the trust that consumers have in those who provide medical care to their companion animals,” said Special Agent in Charge George Scavdis, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations - Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who put the safety and health of pets at risk by tampering with their patients’ medications.” According to court documents, from 1994 through 2021, Gries practiced as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at VCA Amherst Animal Hospital in Amherst County, Virginia. The animal hospital maintained supplies of Dilaudid, an opioid generically known as hydromorphone, primarily for use in treating pain in animal patients following surgeries. As the hospital’s primary surgeon, Gries had full access to the hospital’s supply of hydromorphone and began withdrawing a portion of the highly addictive drug from the vials and injecting it into himself. He would replace the stolen hydromorphone with another substance, usually either saline or butorphanol, and then return the altered narcotic back to the hospital inventory. The Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration - Diversion Control Division, and the Virginia State Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Baudinet prosecuted the case.

Animal hospital office manager prescribed herself more than 10G dog cough pills containing an opioid drug.

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A West Barnstable woman was sentenced on June 15, 2022 in federal court in Boston in connection with stealing hydrocodone, an opioid and Schedule II controlled substance, from the veterinary office where she worked. Melissa Paradise, 43, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to time served (approximately one day in prison) and one year of supervised release. On Feb. 10, 2022, Paradise pleaded guilty to six counts of acquiring a controlled substance using a registration number assigned to another person and eight counts of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge. In late 2018 and 2019, federal investigators noted that an unusually large amount of hydrocodone had been ordered by the veterinary office. In June 2019, the investigators conducted an audit at the animal hospital during which Paradise was identified as the office manager responsible for record keeping regarding prescriptions. Upon her arrival at the office on the day of the audit, Paradise admitted to investigators that she used the DEA registration number assigned to a veterinarian in the practice without the veterinarian’s knowledge or consent to order controlled substances which she then stole for her personal use. Paradise also admitted that she forged the signature of a second veterinarian on other prescription documents and diverted those drugs for her own use. The second veterinarian later confirmed that the signature on the documents was forged. United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Barnstable Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini of Rollins’ Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

Gastroenterologist accused of providing “grossly” insufficient medical treatment to patients and prescribing drugs to himself.

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Vineland gastroenterologist accused of providing “grossly” insufficient medical treatment to patients and prescribing drugs to himself has reached a settlement with the board that licenses New Jersey doctors.

Dr. Gary Matusow must undergo monitoring of his work for at least a year as part of a consent order he reached May 14 with the State Board of Medical Examiners that allows him to resume practicing medicine.

The agreement included a 17-month retroactive suspension of Matusow’s medical license and a 19-month probationary period.

Matusow “denies all allegations of wrongdoing,” according to the consent order.

The Board of Medical Examiners has scrutinized Matusow since April 2013, after Inspira Health Network reported concerns about his work.

An expert working for the board determined he deviated from accepted standards of care while performing procedures on three patients, all of whom suffered complications. It reached a similar conclusion regarding another patient’s care in 2016.

In October 2016, Matusow voluntarily stopped practicing medicine while the board further investigated the allegations.

But the board said the doctor acknowledged that he “renewed several of his patients’ prescriptions” during the period when he said he would refrain from practicing medicine.

“He further admitted calling in prescriptions for controlled substances for himself using his partner’s name,” according to the consent order.

Earlier this year, the doctor’s legal counsel told the board that Matusow has taken several steps to get his career back on track.

He completed a five-day inpatient assessment at a Pennsylvania substance abuse treatment center “to address his inappropriate self-prescribing,” according to the consent order. He also completed two “professional boundaries classes,” underwent psychotherapy and enrolled in the Professional Assistance Program.

His legal counsel also submitted a report to the board from an expert who concluded Matusow’s treatment of the four patients “met the standard of care.”

Matusow did not make himself available for an interview with The Daily Journal on Tuesday, but he did answer some questions via email.

He said it’s important to understand the context behind the report Inspira filed with the state regarding his actions. He and Inspira had a “mutually antagonistic relationship” and the health system wanted to harm the doctor because he was a “popular” competitor and one of the “biggest thorns in their side,” Matusow said.

The doctor said none of the cases reported to the state board involved malpractice or patient deaths, and noted his expert “refuted” the allegations of improper medical care.

Matusow did not admit any wrongdoing or liability when signing the consent order.

Under the agreement reached last week, his license to practice medicine and surgery was suspended for three years. That included 17 months of “active suspension,” which began retroactively when he voluntarily stopped practicing medicine in October 2016, according to the order. The rest of the suspension is a probationary period during which Matusow can practice medicine if he complies with certain restrictions.

That includes completing a refresher course in how to properly perform endoscopies, doing some procedures under the review of a proctor, submitting 15 randomly selected patients’ cases for monthly review by a monitor for at least one year, and abstaining from alcohol or other psychoactive substances for at least a year. Matusow also was ordered to pay $14,694 in costs to the Board of Medical Examiners.

Matusow did not answer questions from The Daily Journal about if or when he would resume practicing medicine, and where he might work.

The Facebook page “Patients And Friends Support Dr. Gary Matusow” said in an online post Tuesday that it did not have an update concerning when the doctor might return to practicing medicine.

Police department investigates health aide who allegedly stole a student's Adderall and swapped it for Claritin.

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On May 27, local father Brett Byrnes, a former military officer, walked through the front green doors of Doorway 1 at his second grade daughter’s elementary school, Greenbriar East. The school nurse had just called to say she was out of his second-grade daughter’s dosage of Adderall, a prescription drug used to treat ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What the Byrnes uncovered was any parent’s nightmare: possibly for months, the school’s health aide, Jennifer Carpenter, had allegedly stolen their daughter’s Adderall – a stimulant – and given her Claritin, an over-the-counter medicine used for allergies. Their daughter wasn’t alone: under the eye of school officials at their neighborhood school, where the mascot is the Roadrunner, Carpenter had allegedly stolen medicine from six other children. In a June 7 letter, addressed to “Parents” of the seven children impacted, Robin Wallin, director of the Fairfax County Health Department’s school health division said the FCPD and Child Protective Services “have active investigations into the diversion of medication that affected your student.” In response to a public records request, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) said that it started an investigation, case number 2022-1470199, on May 27 related to “Embezzlement.” Under “General Property Reported Stolen,” police say, “Medicine.” But two weeks later, Fairfax County Public Schools hasn’t yet notified school or school district parents of this alleged crime. “It’s truly criminal that medicine has been stolen from children. This is a systemic problem,” Byrnes said. “They can’t even find the audit documentation,” said the mother of a fourth grader, 10, whose Ritalin, also used for ADHD, was allegedly stolen. “It seems the school is covering up their failures.” In a statement to the Fairfax Times, Wallin confirmed the scandal, stating, “It came to the Health Department’s attention on Friday, May 27 that there was a discrepancy in a medication for a student at Greenbriar East Elementary School. The Health Department responded immediately and began an internal investigation. A report was made to the Fairfax County Police Department that evening and the investigation is ongoing. The Health Department notified parents and guardians of the seven affected students immediately upon determining the scope of the problem. The employee was placed on administrative leave, with the Health Department moving to terminate their employment with the county.” This “discrepancy” is important because it reflects the growing frustration of parents trying to advocate for the safety of their children, only to be dismissed, demonized as engaging in “domestic terrorism” and even handcuffed, from Uvalde, Tex., to Loudoun County, Va. Asked why the school system hasn’t notified school or school district parents, FCPS spokeswoman Helen Lloyd said, “As these staff are hired by the FCHD, you need to direct your questions through them.” Carpenter had an out-of-office response (from 2019) on her official school email address. She couldn’t be reached at various phone numbers listed in the area for her name. At 6 p.m, on May 31, the second grader’s parents got a letter from Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu, the Fairfax County health director, notifying them that health department officials had learned there was a “discrepancy in medication” because a health department employee had been “diverting” medication “belonging to students.” Then a shocker, “...we have reason to believe that the employee may have on occasion given your child a generic over the counter

Iowa nursing home worker admitted stealing a resident’s painkillers, saying the stress of patient death during COVID-19 contributed to her use of drugs.

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

An Iowa nursing home worker who admitted stealing a resident’s painkillers says the stress of watching more than a dozen COVID-19 patients die alone contributed to her use of cocaine and other drugs. The Iowa Board of Nursing recently suspended the license of nurse Kelsey Baxter of Waterloo, in part for the theft of a patient’s medication. According to state records, Baxter was employed at Waterloo’s Friendship Village Retirement Community from September 2009 until May 2021, when she was fired. In April of that year, a nurse aide at the home reported seeing Baxter consume two pills she had pulled from a medication card. The aide retrieved the card from the garbage and determined the package had contained morphine that was prescribed to a resident of the home. The aide informed the home’s director of nursing, and Baxter submitted to a drug screen that allegedly showed a positive result for opiates. Baxter was fired and admitted herself to a treatment program where, according to board records, she allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol twice per week, smoking marijuana once per month, snorting cocaine every other day, and taking hydrocodone four to five times per month. When contacted by a board investigator, Baxter admitted to stealing and consuming morphine that belonged to a resident of the Friendship Village nursing home. At a subsequent disciplinary hearing, Baxter stated she had a history of anxiety, depression and insomnia. Those conditions, she testified, were exacerbated by her work as a COVID-19 nurse specialist, and her mental health deteriorated after watching 14 residents of the home die alone. She testified that she began using cocaine to stay awake while working long shifts at the home during the pandemic. After the hearing, the board voted to indefinitely suspend Baxter’s license. She will be eligible to apply for reinstatement only after the successful completion of substance abuse treatment and 12 continuous months of sobriety any time after May 2, 2021, the date on which she first sought treatment. Upon reinstatement, Baxter’s license will be placed on probation and subject to restrictions for a period of one year.

Surgical tech who exposed thousands across four states to hepatitis and HIV sentenced to more than 6 years for drug theft.

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Washington state health officials are demanding changes at Seattle’s Northwest Hospital & Medical Center after the institution failed to investigate and report possible drug diversion by a former surgical technologist who now faces federal criminal charges for drug theft, possibly exposing patients to infection. Rocky Allen, 28, is awaiting trial after he was charged in Colorado with stealing a syringe of the powerful narcotic fentanyl at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo. Subsequent investigations revealed Allen faced similar allegations in three other states, including Washington. Nearly 1,500 patients who had surgery at two Washington hospitals where Allen worked in 2011 and 2012 were warned earlier this year to be tested for possible infection with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV infection because of concerns about needle-swapping. Allen worked at Northwest Hospital during that period, but officials failed to properly report that he was fired in March 2012 for touching a syringe of Propofol, a powerful anesthetic, on an operating-room cart. He previously had been told not to linger near the anesthesia cart. That’s according to a statement of deficiencies issued Thursday by the Washington State Department of Health. State regulations require prompt reporting when a credentialed health-care worker is suspected of committing unprofessional conduct, such as drug diversion, and no such report was filed, state health officials said in a news release. “The investigation could not confirm conclusively whether Allen actually diverted drugs while at this hospital or if his drug-related misconduct infected patients,” health-department officials said in a statement. The risk of potential exposure or infection is very low, however, the agency said. Officials with Northwest, which is run by UW Medicine, said they were reviewing the state’s report and will respond. State officials declined further comment because the health department is involved in lawsuits involving Allen, a spokeswoman said. Northwest has 10 days to develop and submit a plan to prevent similar lapses. If the plan or its implementation falls short, the state can take enforcement action, officials said. At least four people, including three former patients, have said they will sue Northwest for causing emotional distress and bodily harm by hiring Allen. Allen also worked at Lakewood Surgery Center in Lakewood, Pierce County, and at Naval Hospital Bremerton. A separate state investigation at Lakewood revealed no evidence of any suspicions that would require a report, officials said. Allen was indicted in February and charged with stealing a syringe of fentanyl and replacing it with another substance. He later tested positive for fentanyl and marijuana, federal court records show. In addition, Allen has tested positive for a bloodborne pathogen, though officials haven’t identified it. His actions put nearly 3,000 patients at the Colorado hospital at potential risk from needle swapping and raised questions about his actions at previous jobs. Allen was also accused of or fired for diverting drugs at hospitals in California and Arizona. Allen was dismissed from the military in part because of drug-diversion issues, state health officials said. He failed to truthfully answer questions about his criminal and disciplinary history when he applied for a Washington state surgical technologist credential in 2011. Checks by the Washington State Patrol and of the National Practitioner Data Bank also failed to reveal any past problems, state officials said. Allen’s Washington credential expired in 2012. He tried to reapply for a credential in February, but based on the Colorado allegations, state officials denied the request and indefinitely suspended his right to practice in Washington.

Surgical tech who exposed thousands across four states to hepatitis and HIV sentenced to more than 6 years for drug theft.

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Denver surgery technician who infected three dozen and exposed thousands while stealing Fentanyl has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Kristen Parker, a former Rose Medical Center surgery “scrub” technician, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver. Parker, age 26, of Elizabeth, Colorado, was named in a 42 count indictment charging product tampering and obtaining controlled substances by deceit. She remains in federal custody, being held without bond pending a resolution of her case. Kristen Parker was originally charged in a three count Criminal Complaint in U.S. District Court in Denver on July 2, 2009. She made her initial appearance in federal court on July 6, 2009, where she was advised of the charges pending against her. On July 9, 2009, Parker waived her right to a preliminary hearing. She did, however, contest her detention. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Craig B. Shaffer found at that hearing that Parker was a danger to the community. He ordered her held without bond. Parker was a surgery “scrub” technician at Rose Medical Center in Denver and then at Audubon Surgery Center in Colorado Springs, where she assisted in surgical procedures. She had Hepatitis C while she worked at both facilities. Parker is accused of stealing a powerful narcotic drug, Fentanyl, from surgical patients. She would inject herself with a syringe containing the narcotic. She would then fill the same dirty syringe with saline and put it back on the surgical tray. Patients who needed the pain medication during surgery did not receive it. What they did receive, however, was exposure to Parker’s Hepatitis C. To date 19 patients at Rose Medical Center have tested positive for Hepatitis C that can be linked back to Parker. The indictment charges Parker with 21 counts of tampering with a consumer product and 21 counts of obtaining a controlled substance by deceit, or attempt. All of the indicted conducts relates to when Parker worked for Rose Medical Center. None of the charged conduct involves Audubon, although testing is only halfway complete at both places, and additional charges via superseding indictments are possible. According to the indictment, between October 22, 2008, through April 15, 2009, Parker, with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be placed in danger of bodily injury, and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk, tampered and attempted to tamper with consumer products, namely the removal of Fentanyl from a syringe, and replacing it with other substances. Further, the indictment alleges that she knowingly and intentionally obtained, and attempted to obtain, Fentanyl by deceit. Parker faces not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine for each count of tampering with a consumer product. If serious bodily injury occurred, she would face not more than 20 years in federal prison. If death of an individual occurs, she would face up to life imprisonment. If convicted of obtaining a controlled substance by deceit, or attempting to do the same, Parker faces not more than 4 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine for each count. Parker, who worked at Rose Medical Center in Denver and Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs, was told her first week at Rose — after a pre-employment screening — that she probably had the disease. Still, Parker stole fentanyl laid out in operating rooms in preparation for surgery. She injected herself with the painkiller up to two or three times a day for several months, refilling the syringes with water or saline solution for patients. To date, tests have confirmed at least 18 people who had surgery at Rose contracted the potentially deadly liver disease from Parker. Eight additional people also are presumed to have the disease because of her drug theft. “I know everyone is waiting for me to answer the million-dollar question: why?” Parker said in court, pausing often to wipe tears. “I won’t sugarcoat it. I was a drug addict. “I am certainly not looking for pity or sympathy. There is no doubt in my mind where I deserve to be: jail. It’s time to reap what I have sown.” Several of the victims, as well as Parker’s boyfriend, also blamed the hospital. “It’s Rose’s negligence, and they should be sitting right here next to Kristen Parker for her sentencing,” said Michael Moody, Parker’s “significant other.” “The criminal here should be Rose Medical Center.” Rose released a statement later, saying the hospital has improved policies to protect narcotics.

Denver surgery technician who infected three dozen and exposed thousands while stealing Fentanyl has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Denver surgery technician who infected three dozen and exposed thousands while stealing Fentanyl has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Hospital pays $4.36 million to settle claims it violated the Controlled Substances Act. One of its pharmacy technicians sentenced for federal drug charge, and a registered nurse admits to tampering with fentanyl vials and hydromorphone injectables.

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On 6/8/2022, Sovah Health agreed to pay the United States $4.36 million to settle claims that the hospital system violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) on numerous occasions between 2017 and 2020. As part of the resolution, Sovah Health further agreed to be subject to a period of four years of increased compliance and oversight during which any failure to comply with its obligations may result in contempt of court findings that could result in additional monetary sanctions and injunctive relief. The settlement is the third-largest civil penalty ever obtained from a hospital system under the Controlled Substances Act and the largest ever in the Fourth Circuit. The claims center around Sovah Health’s failure to have effective controls in place to prevent the diversion of powerful painkilling prescription opioids. Sovah Health is a regional health care delivery system comprised of a hospital with two campuses - Danville and Martinsville. In 2017, Danville (formerly Danville Regional Medical Center) and Martinsville (formerly Memorial Hospital of Martinsville & Henry County) united to form Sovah Health. From 2017 to 2019, a Sovah Health employee diverted more than 11,000 Schedule II controlled substances from Sovah Health. From January to May 2020 a second Sovah Health employee, Emillee Poteat, a Registered Nurse, tampered with Fentanyl vials and hydromorphone injectables by replacing the controlled substance with saline and diverting the controlled substance. The United States alleged Sovah Health failed to provide effective controls and procedures to guard against the diversion of controlled substances, filled orders for controlled substances without a system in place to disclose suspicious orders of controlled substances, and failed to maintain readily retrievable records of controlled substances. “As opioid overdose deaths skyrocket, it is critical that health care companies are held accountable when they fail to effectively safeguard these powerful prescriptions within their facilities,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh for the Western District of Virginia. “The oversight provided by this resolution will ensure future compliance involving these important but potentially deadly substances, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia will continue to vigorously pursue these cases with our federal and local partners in order to protect Virginia’s communities.” “Today's settlement sends a clear message to all registrants that it is essential to maintain effective controls to prevent the diversion of controlled substances” said DEA Washington Division Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget. “DEA is dedicated to combat the prescription drug abuse problem in Virginia and throughout the country and to hold all DEA registrants accountable." “The FDA oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that patients receive medicines that are safe and effective,” said Special Agent in Charge George A. Scavdis of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to protect the public health by holding accountable health care companies that fail to safeguard their prescription drug inventory and thereby compromise their patients’ health and comfort.” “With opioid deaths and overdoses at record-breaking highs, especially across Southside Virginia, there must be zero tolerance of trusted health professionals engaging in drug diversion,” said Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent. “For the safety and protection of Virginia's communities, our Virginia State Police Drug Diversion special agents, in collaboration with our local and federal public safety partners, will continue to aggressively pursue investigations related to the illegal distribution of Fentanyl and other prescription drugs.” The agreement, which is available here, resolves Sovah Health’s potential civil and criminal liability based on the investigation. As part of the resolution, Sovah Health has committed to additional compliance measures including, but not limited to, having cameras at all Automated Dispensing Machines to capture the activity of placing/removing controlled substances; promptly reporting losses and diversion of controlled substances; taking and reporting disciplinary action taken against employees found to have been responsible for theft, diversion or loss of controlled substances; maintaining a mandatory random drug testing program for employees; and conducting a full physical inventory of all federally scheduled II-V controlled substances more frequently than required by law. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Lugar and Randy Ramseyer represented the United States in this matter. The investigation was conducted by the Food and Drug Administration - Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration – Roanoke Resident Office Diversion Group, and the Virginia State Police.

On 4/18/2020, Paulette G Toller, a former pharmacy technician working in Danville, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Danville, Virginia to 13 months in federal prison for illegal distribution of a controlled substance. Toller, 60, pleaded guilty in February 2020 to possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing a controlled substance, acquiring, and obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery or deception. According to court documents, Toller, who worked as a pharmacy technician at Sovah Health Danville since 2001, admitted to finding a “loophole” in the hospital’s automated dispensing system that allowed her to withdraw controlled substances under codes that were no longer valid. Toller admitted to obtaining the substances, which included hydrocodone, oxycodone, and other controlled substances, for her own personal use.

Iowa nurse surrenders her license after a history of drug addiction and being fired from nursing homes where patient medication had gone missing.

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

An Iowa nurse with a history of drug addiction was hired at a rehabilitation center days after being fired from a nursing home where patient medications had gone missing, state records show. Kathlene Roush of Des Moines continued to find work as a nurse even after the Iowa Board of Nursing charged her with the misappropriation of patient medications. According to the board, Roush’s problems began in August 2013 when the Iowa Department of Human Services investigated an incident in which she allegedly overdosed on prescription medication and was found unresponsive in her home with her children present. DHS ultimately placed Roush’s name on its central abuse registry, and she was diagnosed with opioid dependence. From August 2020 until October 2020, Roush was employed as a licensed practical nurse at the Mitchell Village Care Center in Mitchellville. Shortly after Roush began working there, a patient was transferred to the home with 18 oxycodone tablets. The board alleges Roush signed out four doses of the patient’s oxycodone without documenting that the patient received them. A few weeks later, the staff at the home discovered that a bottle of liquid morphine prescribed to a patient appeared to have been refilled with another substance of a different color. A review of medication records revealed Roush had administered the last four dosages given to the patient and that she had ordered a new bottle from the pharmacy although the existing supply was expected to last several more days. The nursing home then discovered that Roush had ordered four oxycodone tablets for a patient without a doctor’s authorization, and there was no record of the patient having received them. In addition, the board alleges, Roush had checked out another resident’s pain medication without documenting the administration of the drugs and had ordered unneeded morphine sulfate for yet another resident of the home. After the nursing home suspended Roush for three days, she failed to show up for her next shift and was fired, according to the board. Within days, Roush was working again as a nurse, this time for the Rehabilitation Center of Des Moines. On the morning of November 28, 2020, Roush was completing her shift at the center when a co-worker allegedly found Roush’s personal bag on a chair inside the facility’s medication room. The co-worker noticed three bubble-pack medication cards, including oxycodone, in the bag along with the center’s “medication count” documents showing the drugs were prescribed to clients. The center fired Roush 10 days later, the board alleges. Eleven months later, the Board of Nursing charged Roush with misappropriating patient medications, property or supplies; failing to properly safeguard or secure medications; and failing to assess, evaluate and accurately document the status of a patient. This matter came before the board for a hearing on January 20 of this year, at which Roush submitted letters of support from past and current co-workers attesting to her dependability and competency as a nurse. At that time, Roush had recently completed a substance abuse evaluation and had allegedly acknowledged her past substance abuse while indicating opiates were her primary drug of choice. According to the board, she also admitted having used methamphetamine in 2020, but denied any current drug use. In April, with Roush still employed as a nurse – state records say she was working for an entity called “Genesis Health in Des Moines” – the board voted to suspend her license for an indefinite period. She can apply for reinstatement after one year of sobriety and after submitting to a comprehensive mental health and substance abuse evaluation.

Iowa nurse surrenders her license after a history of drug addiction and being fired from nursing homes where patient medication had gone missing.

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Iowa nurse surrenders her license after a history of drug addiction and being fired from nursing homes where patient medication had gone missing.

Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A firefighter has agreed to plead guilty in connection with conspiring to distribute controlled substances including oxycodone, suboxone, Klonopin and Adderall.

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former firefighter has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with conspiring to distribute controlled substances including oxycodone, suboxone, Klonopin and Adderall. Joshua Eisnor, 43, of North Reading, was charged by an Information with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Eisnor is scheduled to plead guilty on June 23, 2022. According to the charging document, while working as a firefighter at the Malden Fire Department, Eisnor distributed controlled substances to other members of the Malden Fire Department. Sentences in a criminal case are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to a $500,000. United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Brian McClune, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office, made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Merrimack Valley Transnational Organized Crime Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eugenia M. Carris, Deputy Chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, and Howard Locker, of Rollins’ Health Care Fraud Unit, are prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

More than 7½ gallons of fentanyl solution from New Hampshire Intensive Care Unit had gone unaccounted for, much of which was stolen by the nurse.

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Around Feb. 4, 2022, Alexandra Towle, a nurse in the Cheshire Medical Center's ICU, self-reported that she had stolen fentanyl from Cheshire Medical Center, according to the New Hampshire N.H. Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) documents. At that time, she signed a Preliminary Agreement Not to Practice medicine. Towle died on March 3, 2022. State licensure boards subsequently suspended the licenses of Cheshire Medical Center’s chief nursing officer and two other personnel after gallons of fentanyl solution went missing from the Keene hospital, according to OPLC. The state’s medical licensing authority, which oversees the New Hampshire boards of pharmacy and nursing, issued the emergency suspension of Chief Nursing Officer Amy Matthews on May 26. It issued the emergency suspensions of Pharmacist-in-Charge and Director of Pharmacy Melissa Siciliano and Pharmacist Richard Crowe on March 30. Documents ordering the suspensions state that hundreds of bags of fentanyl solution were stolen by a nurse. But according to the OPLC, neither Matthews nor Siciliano, whose license has since been reinstated, have been implicated in the theft. Rather, the documents note the supervisory nature of their roles at the hospital and their responsibilities for safeguarding controlled substances used there. The document ordering Matthews’ license suspension states: “To have such a significant amount of fentanyl lost under her management, even after remedial measures were implemented, indicates the Licensee is negligent and/or careless in her work such that she poses an imminent threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.” The document ordering Crowe’s license suspension says that the OPLC investigation implicated him “as having played an integral role in the diversion and/or failure to report the diversion” of fentanyl solution. It notes he was responsible for reconciling the controlled-substance reports at Cheshire Medical between September and February. A spokeswoman for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency confirmed an ongoing criminal investigation Thursday into the lost fentanyl. She declined to comment further on the investigation. A spokesman for Cheshire Medical Center declined to answer emailed questions about the situation and responded with only a brief statement. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is used in the medical field for sedation and pain relief. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and is highly addictive and dangerous when used illicitly, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Since September, more than 7½ gallons of fentanyl solution from Cheshire Medical’s Intensive Care Unit have gone unaccounted for, much of which was stolen by the nurse, the suspension documents state. But not all the lost fentanyl can be attributed to that theft, according to the documents, which state that hospital staff said a winter surge of COVID-19 also impacted recordkeeping related to fentanyl and other drugs. Around Feb. 4, Alexandra Towle, a nurse in the hospital’s ICU, self-reported that she had stolen fentanyl from Cheshire Medical Center, according to OPLC documents. Towle died in March. A preliminary agreement not to practice that she signed Feb. 9 states she stole 12 bags of fentanyl in October, 50 to 100 bags in November, about 100 bags in December and 200 bags in January. She said in an email to an OPLC investigator that the drugs were for her own use as a way of coping with the stress of working during the pandemic, but that representation differs from what she provided to the hospital in a separate email, according to an OPLC document. In that email, she said she had given 12 bags of fentanyl to a friend, the document states. Sometime between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, the OPLC received complaints about the theft of fentanyl from the ICU, according to documents from that office. On Feb. 2, the OPLC received a loss-of-controlled-substance form and letter from the hospital, indicating there were 23 bags, or 1,150 milliliters, of fentanyl solution that had been stolen, but that it expected those numbers to increase due to an ongoing internal investigation, the documents state. In response to questions emailed to Siciliano, her lawyer, Rick Fradette, said she became aware of the theft of fentanyl on Feb. 1 and reported it to the board of pharmacy the following day. Over the next few months, the hospital submitted at least three updated loss-of-controlled substance forms that by April 14 indicated a cumulative amount of lost/unaccounted-for fentanyl solution totaling 583 bags, or 7.7 gallons, all attributable to the period between September and January, according to OPLC documents. Investigators with the OPLC held a meeting with hospital staff on March 8, during which staff explained that the spike in critically ill COVID-19 patients during the winter surge resulted in controlled-substance procedures not being enforced, according to the OPLC document reinstating Siciliano’s license. Siciliano said she worked between 50 to 60 hours a week before the surge but more than 80 hours during it, the document states. She oversaw multiple machines that dispensed fentanyl solution to which hundreds of professionals had access, and some of the record-keeping discrepancies also arose due to software changes made by the hospital, according to the document. Hospital reports from the period when fentanyl was being stolen indicate that patients being treated with the drug still received their prescriptions, that document states. In February and March, the hospital responded to the loss and theft of fentanyl by implementing remedial measures, including permanently locking the medication room, training nursing and pharmacy staff to prevent and detect theft and implementing a daily accounting of controlled substances, the OPLC documents state. After these measures had been implemented, the hospital submitted another controlled-drug-loss form showing an additional 553 milliliters — or about 11 bags — of fentanyl solution had gone unaccounted for between April 10 and May 7, according to the documents, which state the hospital did not believe this fentanyl was stolen. “Cheshire Medical Center continues to work closely with government agencies on the ongoing investigation of this matter, even as we revise and refine our policies and protocols regarding the secure handling of pharmaceuticals,” the hospital said in a statement emailed to The Sentinel. “Patient and employee safety are always our first priority, and we have a zero-tolerance policy regarding the diversion of any controlled substance.” Citing an inability to comment on personnel issues, Matthew Barone, spokesman for Cheshire Medical Center, declined to answer emailed questions that included whether Matthews, Siciliano or Crowe remain employed at the hospital. He also did not address questions about the medical uses of fentanyl solution at the hospital, the most recent total of lost fentanyl or the quantity of the drug the hospital kept in stock at any given time. The board of pharmacy reinstated Siciliano’s license on April 20, according to the OPLC. But she has resigned from her roles at Cheshire Medical Center, as indicated in a letter she sent the pharmacy board dated May 25. She will remain an employee at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, which is affiliated with Cheshire Medical Center, as the system clinical manager of pharmacy services, that letter states. Matthews could not be reached for comment. An email sent to her Cheshire Medical Center address returned an out-of-office reply, and attempts to reach her by phone were unsuccessful. Crowe also could not be reached for comment by phone or email. The OPLC did not return multiple requests for comment about whether Matthews or Crowe have appealed the suspensions of their licenses. On August 7, 2022, Cheshire Medical Center agreed to a settlement with the state Board of Pharmacy that will allow the Keene hospital to retain its pharmacy permit with some restrictions — in addition to paying over $235,000 in fines and fees. In a statement, Cheshire Medical Center officials said the facility's top priority is to deliver "high quality care and to provide a safe patient and employee environment." "Cheshire Medical Center continues to make significant progress in the essential work of strengthening our controlled substance policies and practices," Cheshire Medical Center said in a statement. "Since the theft of the controlled substance that we discovered and reported earlier this year, we have been intensely focused on taking steps to prevent future occurrences. These steps include extensive training and education of clinical staff, hiring specialized drug diversion specialists, and implementing new practices for oversight among other beneficial changes." We thank Ryan Spencer of the Sentinel Source for his reporting on this incident.

Massachusetts nurse entered a patient’s room in the critical care unit and used a syringe to steal fentanyl administered to the patient through an IV line.

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Pittsfield woman pleaded guilty on 5/31/2022 in federal court in Springfield to stealing fentanyl being administered to a patient in the critical care unit. Jessica Lotto, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, deceit or subterfuge. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Jan. 25, 2023. Lotto was charged in November 2021.tea In February 2019, while working as a nurse at Berkshire Medical Center, Lotto entered a patient’s room in the critical care unit where she used a syringe to steal fentanyl being administered to the patient through an IV line. Lotto later admitted to taking the drug from the patient. The charge of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, deceit or subterfuge provides for a sentence of up to four years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Brian McClune, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Margret R. Cooke, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Bains Shukla, Chief of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office, is prosecuting the case.

A Michigan pharmacy has agreed to pay $1.5M and enter into a 3-year Memorandum of Agreement to resolve allegations it violated the Controlled Substances Act.

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Sixth Street Drugs, Inc., a Munson Healthcare subsidiary located in Traverse City, Michigan, has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the United States and enter into a three-year Memorandum of Agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by filling numerous prescriptions for controlled substances despite red flags that the prescriptions were not valid. Under the CSA and DEA regulations, for a prescription to be effective, it must be issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an individual practitioner acting in the usual course of his professional practice. Pharmacies and pharmacists have a responsibility not to fill an invalid prescription and are prohibited from dispensing pursuant to an invalid prescription. When the circumstances around a prescription raise a red flag—a reasonable suspicion that the prescription is not valid—the pharmacist must conduct a further inquiry to ensure the prescription is valid. The CSA provides significant penalties, currently up to $72,683.00 for each such violation. The government began investigating Sixth Street Drugs based on information that it was an outlier in a number of categories relating to schedule II controlled substances, including its quantities of oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and amphetamine. Following an administrative inspection in 2019, DEA alleged that Sixth Street Drugs failed to identify and resolve numerous red flags before filling prescriptions. Among other things, DEA contended that Sixth Street Drugs:

filled hundreds of prescriptions that resulted in patients receiving dangerous drug cocktails (such as opioids with benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, and/or stimulants);
filled prescriptions that resulted in patients receiving extraordinarily high opioid doses that far exceeded federal dosage guidance;
filled prescriptions for hundreds of individuals who were traveling long distances to receive prescriptions and to fill them at Sixth Street Drugs;
filled prescriptions for many patients who had prescriptions from numerous prescribers and used multiple pharmacies (physician-shopper and pharmacy-shopper patients);
filled prescriptions for patients of several providers who issued suspicious prescriptions and have since been sanctioned by state and federal authorities; provided early refills of opioid prescriptions on hundreds of occasions; and lacked appropriate written policies and procedures relating to dispensing controlled substances.

As part of the settlement, Sixth Street Drugs entered into a three-year Memorandum of Agreement with DEA that, among other things, prescribes Sixth Street Drugs’ drug-handling responsibilities, mandates external controlled substance audits, and requires Sixth Street Drugs to institute a broad-based educational program focused on preventing drug diversion. In reaching this settlement, the government recognized the substantial steps Munson Healthcare took in response to DEA’s investigation to address problems relating to Sixth Street Drugs’ handling of controlled substances. “Prescription drug abuse and diversion—and the overprescribing that often enables them—have caused tremendous damage throughout the Western District of Michigan,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who fail to live up to their legal responsibilities and contribute to this crisis, including pharmacies and physicians.” Kent R. Kleinschmidt, DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Detroit Field Division, stated, “careless behavior and negligence allow for substances to be diverted and sold on the black market with no measure of accountability. This is the type of reckless behavior that fuels the opioid epidemic gripping the nation. DEA is committed to pursuing anyone who doesn’t live up to their obligations in safeguarding controlled substances.” The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan and the DEA. The case was investigated by the DEA Grand Rapids District Office Tactical Diversion Squad. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Cobb.

Kansas City paramedic pleaded guilty to obtaining fentanyl and morphine by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge.

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department paramedic pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing fentanyl and morphine from ambulances for his own personal use. Michael L. Fostich, 37, of Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty on 11/29/2018 before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to obtaining a controlled substance (fentanyl and morphine) by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge. Fostich was employed at the Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) as a paramedic from August 2014 to Dec. 11, 2016. Fostich had access to fentanyl and morphine, which were stored in sealed narcotics boxes and locked in safes on KCFD ambulances. Each sealed narcotics box contained two vials of fentanyl, each containing 100 micrograms of liquid fentanyl, and two syringes of morphine, each containing 10 milligrams of liquid morphine. Fentanyl and morphine are opioid narcotics used to treat pain. As a paramedic, Fostich was able to unlock the electronic safe and open the sealed narcotics boxes in order to administer controlled substances to patients, if necessary. By pleading guilty, Fostich admitted that he stole fentanyl and morphine from the ambulances for his own personal use. Fostich also admitted that he prepared patient care records and state reporting forms that contained misrepresentations regarding his use of fentanyl and morphine. From Jan. 1 to Dec. 11, 2016, Fostich reported he was responsible for the use, administration, or wasting of 806 doses of fentanyl, which accounted for approximately 39 percent of all of the KCFD’s total reported use, administration and wasting of fentanyl during that period of time. Fostich also reported that he was responsible for the use, administration, or wasting of 636 doses of morphine during that time, which accounted for approximately 63 percent of all of the KCFD’s total reported use, administration or wasting of morphine during that period of time. The KCFD employed approximately 350 paramedics during this time. Under federal statutes, Fostich is subject to a sentence of up to four years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jess E. Michaelsen and Jeffrey Q. McCarther. It was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigation, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, and the FBI.

Consent decree approved between the United States and Baltimore-based pharmacy and pharmacist alleged to have illegally dispensed controlled substances.

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett approved the United States’ consent decree on 5/12/22 with Ketan K. Dankhara, a Baltimore-based pharmacist, and Falls RX, LLC d/b/a Ultra Care Pharmacy Baltimore (“Ultra Care”), resolving the United States’ civil allegations that Dankhara and Ultra Care violated the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) in illegally dispensing controlled substances. The consent decree was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Jarod A. Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division. “Under the Controlled Substances Act, pharmacists and pharmacies assume a critical gatekeeping function to prevent the diversion of controlled substances,” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “Just as prescribers cannot use their prescription pad as a blank checkbook to write prescriptions for controlled substances, the CSA and its regulations make clear that pharmacists have a corresponding responsibility to ensure the legitimacy of the prescriptions they fill. We will hold responsible those in the supply chain—manufacturers, distributors, prescribers, and retail pharmacies—who violate the CSA and illegally distribute controlled substances, fueling Maryland’s drug addiction epidemic.” “Our pharmacists play a key role in the proper dispensing of controlled substances, helping patients, and protecting us all against the dangers of drug diversion,” stated Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division. “When pharmacists ignore ‘red flags,’ their dispensing contributes to the opioid epidemic. We at the DEA are working hard, every day, to investigate such behavior, and keep our communities safe.” The Government alleges that shortly after Ultra Care opened for business, Dankhara knowingly filled fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances, ignoring red flags that should have acted as warning signs that the prescriptions were not legitimate. More specifically, on several occasions between at least May and September 2020, an individual came to Ultra Care and attempted to fill controlled substance prescriptions for a number of people at the same time, many of whom had never previously been to the pharmacy. At least several dozen of these prescriptions were fraudulent. Some of the fraudulent prescriptions were for the same drug, strength, and quantity, and were from the same prescriber and some were prescribed by an OB/GYN to individuals who were biologically male. Notwithstanding these red flags, Dankhara made no attempt to determine whether the prescriptions were legitimate, nor did he otherwise resolve the red flags. Further, on at least one occasion, Dankhara indicated on a fraudulent prescription that he spoke with the prescriber when, in fact, Dankhara later admitted that he had no such conversation. The Government alleges that Ultra Care is liable for these deficiencies. Under the consent decree, in addition to paying a $15,000 civil monetary penalty, Dankhara and Ultra Care are required to identify certain red flags—including when a patient presents prescriptions written in the names of other people without a valid justification, and when the patient is biologically male and presents prescriptions from an obstetrician or gynecologist. Before filling prescriptions bearing those red flags, the consent decree requires Dankhara and Ultra Care to document in detail any indications of abuse or diversion and the steps they took to ensure that the prescription was valid and was issued for a legitimate medical purpose, and that the prescription would not be abused or diverted for illegitimate purposes. Under the consent decree, if the DEA determines that Dankhara or Ultra Care have violated any provision of the consent decree and/or if Dankhara or the Pharmacy do not implement the corrective action the DEA orders, the DEA can order Dankhara and Ultra Care to cease ordering, distributing, or dispensing controlled substances immediately. The consent decree is not an admission of liability by Ketan Dankhara or Ultra Care, nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded. The Court’s approval of this consent decree should remind pharmacists and pharmacies that the Department of Justice intends to use all tools at its disposal—both criminal and civil—to combat the controlled substances epidemic which continues to plague the United States, including here in Maryland. U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the DEA Washington Division’s Office of Diversion Control, Baltimore District Office for its work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant United States Attorney Alan C. Lazerow, who handled the case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

The pharmacist and her employee conspirators systematically filled fraudulent prescriptions for resale by street-level drug dealers.

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former pharmacist was arrested on 5/12/22 for her role in distributing and dispensing outside the course of professional practice large quantities of oxycodone and other controlled substances from a pharmacy located in Trenton, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. The pharmacist, of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, is charged in a three-count indictment unsealed on 5/12/22 with one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense and to possess with intent to distribute and to dispense Schedule II controlled substances, including oxycodone, between 2014 and 2017; one count of unlawfully distributing and dispensing a controlled substance; and one count of maintaining a premises for the illegal distribution of a controlled substance. The pharmacist is scheduled to make her initial appearance by videoconference this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni. According to documents filed in this case: Between 2014 and 2017, the pharmacist was the co-owner and pharmacist-in-charge of Healthcare Pharmacy in Trenton. She and her employee conspirators, acting at her direction, systematically filled fraudulent prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice, knowing that the drugs would not be used for a legitimate medical purpose, but instead would be illegally diverted, including to street-level drug dealers. The pharmacist, operating a single-location pharmacy, purchased and distributed millions of dosage units of oxycodone, including over 800,000 pills in 2014; over 900,000 pills in 2015; over 800,000 pills in 2016; and over 200,000 pills in 2017, until the DEA suspended the pharmacy’s registration. During each of the years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, Healthcare Pharmacy was one of the largest purchasers of oxycodone in the state of New Jersey. On Aug. 31, 2017, the DEA served the pharmacist with an order immediately suspending Healthcare Pharmacy’s ability to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone. The pharmacist diverted oxycodone pills to cash-paying customers, including street-level drug dealers with fraudulent prescriptions, and then evaded state and federal reporting requirements by manipulating the pharmacy’s dispensing records to conceal the missing inventory. The DEA conducted an audit of Healthcare Pharmacy’s inventory records and government reporting records and found that between April 2015 and August 2017 alone, the pharmacist and Healthcare Pharmacy diverted more than 80,000 oxycodone containing pills, containing more than 2 kilograms of oxycodone. The conspiracy charged in Count One and substantive unlawful distribution of Schedule II controlled substances charged in Count Two each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Count Three, charging the pharmacist with maintaining Healthcare Pharmacy as a drug-involved premises carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited diversion investigators, special agents and task force officers of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. He also thanked special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, officers of the Trenton Police Department, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Ramey of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton. The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The pharmacist’s husband, the co-owner of Healthcare Pharmacy, was also arrested on 5/12/22 on tax evasion offenses charged in a separate indictment. The pharmacist is not charged in the tax case.

60 tampered vials were identified at the vascular surgery center with only 1.3-7% of the declared concentration of fentanyl.

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Berkley nurse pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to tampering with fentanyl intended for patients at a hospital’s post-surgery recovery unit and an outpatient vascular surgery center. Hugo Vieira, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Aug. 24, 2022. Vieira was charged on March 3, 2022. From December 2018 to January 2019, while working at a Massachusetts hospital and an outpatient vascular surgery center, Vieira removed fentanyl from vials meant for patients who were undergoing surgery or recovering from surgery. To conceal his conduct, Vieira replaced the diverted fentanyl with saline. Sixty tampered vials were identified at the vascular surgery center and two vials at the hospital post-surgery recovery unit. Those vials contained only 1.3–7% of the declared concentration of fentanyl citrate. The charge of tampering with a consumer product provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Jeffrey Ebersole, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, New York Field Office; and Margret R. Cooke, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elysa Q. Wan and David J. Derusha of Rollins’ Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

Butte nurse faces a maximum of four years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On 5/10/22, a Butte woman admitted she diverted drugs while working as a nurse at a Butte hospital, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said. Nichole Lynn Zinda, 37, pleaded guilty to unlawfully obtaining a controlled substance as charged in an indictment. Zinda faces a maximum of four years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided. Sentencing was set for 8/24/22 before U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Zinda was released pending further proceedings. The government alleged in court documents that a hospital in Butte notified the Drug Enforcement Administration that Zinda, a registered nurse working on the post-operation floor, was discovered diverting hydromorphone cartridges in September 2020. The hospital reviewed Zinda’s records, which showed an abnormally high number of transactions by Zinda regarding oxycodone and hydromorphone as compared to other nurses working on the same floor. Zinda was pretending to “waste” or dispose of the hydromorphone or was giving it to patients but then cancelling the orders in the system. Zinda was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 2, 2020 after providing a urine analysis and was terminated four days later after the test was positive for hydromorphone as well as oxycodone/oxymorphone. Zinda told investigators that she took hydromorphone from the hospital to prevent her from getting sick when she didn’t have any pills. When she diverted the drugs, she would store them in her pocket. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the DEA, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and St. James Hospital.

Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs and health care fraud conspiracy.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Timothy W. Forester, of Venetia, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one year in prison, two years of supervised release, a fine of $10,000, and ordered to pay $649,524 in restitution on his conviction of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs, and health care fraud conspiracy. Forester pled guilty on September 17, 2021. Forester owned and operated four pharmacies in the Pittsburgh region. Forester owned Prescription Center Plus pharmacies in McMurray, Eighty Four and South Park, along with Century Square Pharmacy in West Mifflin, where he fraudulently obtained and sold oxycodone and hydrocodone from November 2018 through February 2019. Forester would order scheduled narcotics, mostly oxycodone and hydrocodone, from suppliers, intercept those deliveries, falsify pharmacy inventories and transport the drugs to his residence, where he would consume them. In addition, Forester would place labels for brand named drugs on bottles of generic drugs, and bill insurance companies and customers as if the drugs were the higher priced brand drugs. Finally, he would change the computer billing codes for drugs to falsely represent to payors that the drugs were brand, resulting in a much higher reimbursement.

Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs and health care fraud conspiracy.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs and health care fraud conspiracy.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misbranding of drugs and health care fraud conspiracy.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

New Jersey doctor sentenced to 6 years for prescribing controlled substances without legitimate medical purpose and falsifying records.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A New Jersey doctor who dubbed himself as the “Candy Man” and the “El Chapo of Opioids” was sentenced Thursday to six years in federal prison for writing scripts for patients who didn’t need them, some of whom he never even saw. Robert Delagente, 48, of Oakland, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, three counts of distribution of controlled dangerous substances, and one count of falsifying medical records. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence on May 5, 2022. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Beginning in May 2014, Delagente was a doctor at a medical practice called North Jersey Family Medicine (NJFM) in Oakland, New Jersey. Delagente knowingly prescribed controlled substances, such as oxycodone, Percocet, Tylenol with codeine, and various benzodiazepines (alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, and temazepam), outside the ordinary course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. He ignored the inherent danger and medical risk of overdose, drug abuse, and death that can accompany prescriptions of highly addictive opioids, benzodiazepines, and muscle relaxers, both on their own and in combination with one another. Delagente also was charged with altering medical records of patients who received controlled substance prescriptions from him after law enforcement officials had subpoenaed the records in late April 2019. “This defendant knowingly prescribed for his patients some of the most dangerous and addictive drugs available, sometimes with no more contact than a text message from the patient,” U.S. Attorney Carpenito said in a statement after Delagente’s guilty plea. “Many of these patients were dealing with pain and addiction, and instead of getting help from their doctor, they were drawn deeper into the cycle of drug abuse.” Delagente also pleaded guilty in 2019 to state charges of health care claims fraud for $32,000 in services he never rendered, leading to the temporary suspension of his medical license, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Delagente to three years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Messenger in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason S. Gould of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Sean M. Sherman of the Opioids Unit in Newark.

Junior high school maintenance worker arrested and charged after allegedly stealing prescription medications from the nurses' office.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A maintenance worker at a junior high school in Lisle was arrested after allegedly stealing prescription drugs from the nurse’s office. The maintenance worker is facing the charge of burglary from a school, which is a Class 1 felony. Prosecutors believe he entered Lisle Jr. High School’s nurse’s office on Sunday, March 21, 2022 and unlocked the medicine cabinet. He is accused of taking prescription Adderall that was kept in the medicine cabinet for students. Following an investigation by Lisle police, he was arrested at the school on Wednesday. His bond was set at $75,000.

Washington doctor sentenced to 4 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute opioids using hundreds of pre-signed blank prescriptions.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Janet Sue Arnold, age 63, of Benton City, Washington, pleaded guilty on September 3, 2022 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute opioid pain medications (specifically, fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, hydromorphone, methylphenidate, and amphetamine mixture) and other controlled substances (carisoprodol and alprazolam), without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. On April 27, 2022, Dr. Arnold was sentenced to four year in prison. Dr. Arnold is the final defendant to plead guilty in the case. Four other defendants, Danielle Corine Mata, age 44, of Richland, Washington, David Barnes Nay, age 43, of Kennewick, Washington, Lisa Marie Cooper, age 55, of Prosser, Washington, and Jennifer Cheri Prichard, age 46, of Prosser, Washington, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute opioid pain medications and other controlled substances, and are scheduled to be sentenced on October 19, 2021, November 2, 2021, and November 9, 2021, in Richland, Washington. According to court documents and information disclosed during court proceedings, Dr. Arnold owned and operated Desert Wind Family Practice, at 431 Wellsian Way in Richland, Washington. Beginning in approximately March 2016, and continuing until May 3, 2017, Dr. Arnold pre-signed hundreds of blank prescription forms and provided them to Mata, Prichard, and Cooper, who were drug addicts. These individuals then provided the illegal prescriptions to individuals seeking opioids and other controlled substances or used the prescriptions to get their drugs of choice. Dr. Arnold allowed Mata, who also acted as Desert Wind Family Practice’s office manager, to fill in all the required prescription information (patient name, drug type, dosage, and quantity) on the pre-signed blank prescriptions. Dr. Arnold’s practice of pre-signing blank prescription forms enabled the conspirators, including Nay, a drug dealer and addict, to distribute significant quantities of opioid medications and other controlled substances. Acting United States Attorney Joseph H. Harrington said, “Dr. Arnold abandoned her role as a medical doctor by essentially turning over her prescription pad to her office manager and others. Today’s guilty plea should serve as a warning to all medical professionals that if you abuse your medical license by prescribing opioids and other drugs without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice, you will be held accountable. I commend the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, agents who investigated this case.” This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. This case is being prosecuted by George J.C. Jacobs, III and Dominique J. Park, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Washington.

Missoula nurse who admitted to diverting fentanyl and hydromorphone was sentenced to 2 years of probation and fined $2,000.

Wed, 11 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Missoula nurse who admitted to diverting fentanyl and hydromorphone from Community Medical Center for her own use was sentenced on April 26, 2022 to two years of probation and fined $2,000, U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said. Mary Schmidt Monahan, 61, pleaded guilty in January 2022 to unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception, and subterfuge. The government alleged in court documents that from July 2020 until about February 2021, Monahan — a nurse at Community Medical Center — diverted fentanyl and hydromorphone. In January 2021, a coworker noticed Monahan acting suspiciously and observed Monahan with her back to a patient filling syringes with two drug vials. Monahan put something in her jacket pocket, pulled up her right arm sleeve to her elbow, stepped into the corner of the curtain, then returned and wiped her arm with an alcohol pad and raised it for about a minute. Shortly afterward, Monahan asked the coworker to witness her disposal of the medications Dilaudid and fentanyl. In February 2021, another coworker saw Monahan doing something with her hands before placing a vial into her scrub’s pocket. The coworker noted that Monahan was acting in an anxious manner and reported the incident. Monahan’s supervisors confronted her, and she admitted to stealing narcotics and using them. A search of Monahan’s bag revealed unmarked syringes, some of which were used, and some contained liquid, and wrappers from used alcohol swabs. Monahan provided a urine sample, which tested positive for fentanyl.

100 patients urged to get tested after an investigation in three states of a travel nurse suspected of tampering with and contaminating opioids.

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Jacqueline Brewster, 52, from Kentucky, took up a post at Johnson City Medical Center, Tennessee, in April last year, but was fired just three months into the role after her colleagues noticed a vial of one of their drugs 'looked different'. Hospital officials said some syringes had been opened and re-sealed with glue before being returned to storage. An unknown liquid was also alleged to have been added to some of the tampered with vials. After being fired in Tennessee, Brewster was re-employed at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley, West Virginia. But she was once again let go when other nurses reported that some vials in storage had their tops removed. Both hospitals said vials of hydromorphone — a powerful painkiller that can be used as a heroin substitute — had been tampered with. Brewster refused to take a drug test at the Tennessee hospital, even pouring a urine sample down the sink to prevent it from being checked. A separate sample in West Virginia did not pick up any signs of drug misuse. She was arrested by her local sheriff's office in Kentucky last Tuesday on un-disclosed charges. Brewster, who has served as a nurse for 18 years, must now report to Tennessee before Friday this week. A total of 100 patients at Johnson City Medical Center had to be tested for hepatitis and HIV after the tampered vials were spotted. Raleigh General Hospital said hundreds of vials were thrown away to protect patients. It is not clear whether any patients received medication from the tampered with vials or syringes. Brewster was arrested following a fugitive warrant from Tennessee, which is issued from one jurisdiction to require someone to be arrested in another area. She said in court, reports KHN: 'I didn't run away from anything. I don't know how I'm a fugitive.' State documents revealed 'several' vials were reported missing from cabinets, and that the seals of 'multiple' syringes had been 'tampered with'. Alan Levine, CEO of Ballad Health, which runs the Tennessee hospital — told KHN: 'She was removing the Dilaudid and replacing it with another substance that looked clear like Dilaudid, and replacing the vials in the Omnicell system. 'One of our other nurses noticed that something looked different in one of the vials, and notified the pharmacy immediately.' Dilaudid is the brand name for the powerful painkiller hydromorphone. Five of the vials were sent for testing at state laboratories, which revealed the amount of fluid within them was 'inconsistent' with the manufacturers label. Brewster was asked to take a drugs test by the hospital, but the first urine sample she supplied was insufficient. When she handed the physician a second sample and was told it was enough for the test, Brewster grabbed it from their hand and poured it down the sink. The travel nurse also worked at Raleigh General Hospital for a period that is yet to be revealed. But in early March she was also removed from this position after vials were found in cabinets at the hospital with no tops, that appeared to be tampered with, or with residue that 'looked like glue'. An investigation found more than 120 occassions when the cabinet was opened but medication 'was not taken'. And 47 vials were found to have been removed from storage for more than an hour — leaving ample time for them to be tampered with. A urine test on Brewster was also carried out at the West Virginia hospital, but it revealed no evidence of drugs abuse. It was not clear when she started working at Raleigh General Hospital, although it is thought to be after her position ended in Tennessee. West Virginia's nursing board suspended Brewster at the end of March, forbidding her from practicing in the state. It was at this time that the Tennessee Department of Health acted on a complaint about the nurse from the Johnson City Medical Center. It had not previously been made public that she had also tampered with vials there. Brewster was able to work in both states under the Nurse Licensure Compact, allowing nurses to be employed across 30 different states. States notoriously struggle to communicate across borders about which nurses are no longer allowed to practice. West Virginia's nursing board has now suspended her right to practice, while the Tennessee Department of Health has filed a disciplinary case against her. Kentucky says it is 'investigating' her license. Brewster was employed by Jackson Nurse Professionals, a travel nurse company in Orlando, Florida, when she worked at Johnson City Medical Center. Hospitals across the U.S. were left with no option but to rely on travel nurses over the pandemic amid surging Covid admissions. These nurses are normally employed just for a few months at a time at vastly inflated rates to plug staffing shortages. Workers in these roles often shift between states. Johnson City Medical Center became heavily dependent on the back-up staff during the pandemic, with the number of traveling nurses in its ranks jumping more than two-fold from 150 to 400. It still is not known what Brewster's motives were, or where the missing drugs went.

100 patients urged to get tested after an investigation in three states of a travel nurse suspected of tampering with and contaminating opioids.

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A southeast Iowa woman is accused of swiping medications intended for her patients while working as a nurse at the Good Samaritan Society.

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A southeast Iowa woman is was accused of swiping medications intended for her patients while working as a nurse at the Good Samaritan Society. 60-year-old Debbie Hird of Blakesburg Iowa has been charged with two counts of drug diversion (Class C felony), identity theft (aggravated misdemeanor), and tampering with records (aggravated misdemeanor). While employed as a nurse, court documents say in December 2021, Hird charted that she administered Hydrocodone to two patients but kept the drugs to herself. Additionally, Hird allegedly used the identities of three fellow nurses to document the administration of narcotics to patients but held on to the medication instead. Authorities say Hird tampered with records by recording patients receiving pain medication when they were not administered any drugs. A warrant for Hird’s arrest was issued on March 24, 2022 and she was taken into custody on March 29, 2022 and transported to the Wapello County Jail. Her first court appearance is scheduled for March 31st, 2022.

Nurse who stole morphine from dying patient sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Clifton Police Department announced that 43-year-old Ashley Kay Bidwell from Whitney, Texas was sentenced to four years in prison after stealing morphine from a hospice patient back in April 2022.

According to the department, Bidwill plead guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for the injury to the elderly charge as well as two years of probation for a drug diversion charge. The Whitney and Clifton Police Departments in Texas made the arrest in an ongoing multi-agency drug diversion case from a local medical facility.

Bidwell was arrested in April 2022 on charges out of Clifton for Injury to the Elderly – as well as diversion of a controlled substance. Clifton Police tell FOX 44 News they were contacted by Clifton Lutheran Sunset Ministries (CLSM) in reference to an employee who possibly stole drugs from a patient in the facility. As soon as they were made aware, they contacted police. Clifton PD, along with Whitney PD, were able to conduct a thorough investigation and quickly arrested Bidwell. Birdwell used her position with CLSM to take medication away from an elderly patient when he was in dire need of it, for her own addiction. Police say CLSM took very swift action and was 100 percent cooperative with the investigation. Birdwell was then fired by CLSM. She has been transferred to the Bosque County Jail, where her bond is now set at $150,000. Clifton PD says this was an isolated incident, and no other residents were in any harm or in danger. This is an ongoing investigation with cooperation with the cooperation of the medical facility, the Texas State Nursing Board, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Colorado nurse sentenced to prison would falsely document administration in patient charts and use the fentanyl on himself.

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Colorado Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Registered Nurse Kurt Vasquez was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for illegally obtaining fentanyl through fraud and deception while working in the catheterization lab at a hospital. Vasquez was a contract nurse placed at a hospital in the summer 2019. Shortly after his placement, he began executing a plan to obtain fentanyl, midazolam, and propofol for his personal use. Between June 2019 and September 2019, he obtained more drugs than was necessary for scheduled procedures and then kept the drugs for himself. On some occasions, he also falsely documented in patient charts that he had administered drugs that were not actually administered. The defendant also took filled syringes, used the drugs himself, and then falsely stated that he had used the syringes on a patient. On at least two occasions, the defendant flushed used syringes and vials down a toilet, which caused flooding in the hospital.

Fresno nurse admitted to stealing more than 40 vials of fentanyl for personal use and refilling them with IV fluids to avoid detection.

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Fresno nurse is accused of stealing the pain-relieving opioid Fentanyl from her employer. Testimony in court Wednesday alleged she was using it on the patients, then sneaking off and injecting herself with the leftovers. It was December of 2019 when the director of nurses at the Ear, Nose and Throat Medical Center in Northeast Fresno was helping do a daily count of the controlled substances when she realized something was off. "I recall counting with a nurse, counting our fentanyl, and noticing there were several missing," Melissa Vainaukas, the Director of Nurses at ENT Facial Surgery Center testified in court. They immediately contacted Fresno Police to report 36 missing vials of Fentanyl. Just days later, they called detectives again because 13 more were missing. This time, the director of nurses had a suspect in mind. "The last person that had been in the cabinet was Melissa. And so she had came up and told me she needed to leave, she didn't feel well, and as she was leaving, that's when they noticed the vials of Fentanyl were missing." Hours later, police met with registered nurse Melissa Galvani at her Clovis home. Investigators said they recognized quickly she wasn't telling the truth and appeared to be under the influence of an opioid. At one point, detectives asked her to lift up her long sleeves and show investigators her arms. "She had what we call track marks from her wrist all the way up her arm. On both arms," said Fresno Police Department Det. Dean Cardinale. She told investigators she used the drugs herself and got rid of the vials in a nearby field. Galvani told police she started her job in November and began stealing the Fentanyl just two weeks later. "She was also administering Fentanyl to patients and then taking the left over Fentanyl, which was in the bottles of these - vials, and going into the bathroom and actually using the Fentanyl inside the bathroom." Det. Cardinale said. Det. Cardinale said she admitted to refilling the Fentanyl vials with IV fluid so her coworkers wouldn't notice. He said she also told investigators she would tell her coworkers her frequent bathroom breaks were because she was pregnant. Detectives arrested her for felony grand theft and embezzlement.

Florida RN has license revoked after investigation reveals he was diverting sedatives from a surgery center.

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Florida RN Timothy Hughes of Ocala, Florida had his license revoked after an investigation revealed he was diverting drugs from the facility. After verbal warnings, Hughes was investigated following a narcotic count that was short by one Versed vial. Hughes was ordered to pay investigative costs of over $2,500.

A visiting nurse turned herself in following an investigation into suspected drug diversion that affected thirteen patients in total.

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A visiting nurse at Epworth Manor turned herself in Friday at District Court in Tyrone following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General into alleged incidents that occurred at the local nursing facility Dec. 28 and Dec. 30, 2021. Brittany Morgan Quarello, 32, of Altoona, faces felony charges for neglect, obtaining possession of a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery or deception, and a misdemeanor for furnishing false/fraudulent material. The Attorney General was contacted by Tyrone Police regarding a suspected drug diversion at Epworth Manor. Epworth Manor staff had provided Tyrone Police with documents, which were forwarded to a narcotics agent for review. Among the documents were medial administration records, controlled drug records, witness statements and a spreadsheet created by the director of nursing, which outlined the reported issues. This affected thirteen patients in total. Doses of oxycodone, tramadol and lyrica were unaccounted for, according to the charges filed.

Pharmacist stole hundreds of doses of controlled substances at two pharmacies and returned empty capsules to bottles, which were then given to patients.

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A pharmacist who stole controlled substances from two Dubuque area pharmacies and tampered with medications pled guilty and was subsequently sentenced to 2 years in federal prison. Anthony Pape, age 33, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of two counts of theft of controlled substances from two different pharmacies and two counts of tampering with a consumer product, specifically controlled substances. In a plea agreement, Pape admitted that he worked as a pharmacist in two different pharmacies in Dubuque when he stole controlled substances from the pharmacies. An inventory of the pharmacies found hundreds of doses of controlled substances were stolen over the course of his employment. Subsequent investigation also found that, during March of 2020, Pape tampered with capsules of controlled substances by removing all or most of the controlled substance from the capsule and then returning the empty capsules to the pharmacy bulk medication bottle, resulting in these pills being provided to patients. Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Pape remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Pape faces a possible maximum sentence of 28 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and 8 years of supervised release following any imprisonment. At the plea Pape acknowledged that he will also be required to pay restitution to the victims of his crimes and will forfeit his Iowa pharmacist’s license. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 21-CR-01032.

A central Illinois dentist faces decades in federal prison for allegedly diluting anesthesia for his patients and keeping the drug for himself.

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

An Illinois dentist has been arrested, accused of removing portions of fentanyl from his patients' anesthesia and hoarding it for "personal use," prosecutors say. Phillip Jensen, 61, of Rochester, Illinois, was taken into custody Monday, on a slew of charges including acquiring a controlled substance by fraud. Jensen, who served the Springfield-area and was authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense controlled substances, allegedly adulterated the fentanyl he was supposed to use as anesthesia for his patients during surgeries starting as early as December 2019 into at least August 2020. Before surgeries, Jensen allegedly pierced the fentanyl vials, removed half the fentanyl then refilled the vials with another solution. He "administered the adulterated fentanyl, which was now at half its labeled strength, to his patients." The portion he removed, he "set aside for his personal use," prosecutors said. On one occasion when Jenson administered the tampered fentanyl to a patient, it "resulted in serious bodily injury to that patient." The indictment also accuses Jensen of acquiring fentanyl by fraud for obtaining the drug from the vials and concealing the removal by refilling it with another substance and replacing the safety caps. A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Phillip Jensen, DMD, 61, of Rochester, Illinois, on February 1, 2022, charging him with eight counts of drug diversion, eight counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products, and three counts of false statements related to health care matters. If convicted, the statutory penalties for the alleged crimes charged are a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment for drug diversion, up to four years' imprisonment for acquiring a controlled substance by fraud, up to twenty years' imprisonment for tampering with consumer products, and up to five years' imprisonment for a false statement related to health care matters. The Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office, investigated the case. Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

In a Jacksonville ICU, a registered nurse diverted intravenous doses of fentanyl from patients, replacing them with fentanyl diluted with saline.

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Jerome Clampitt II, a registered nurse, has been sentenced to six months in federal prison, followed by six months of home detention for tampering with injectable fentanyl. According to court documents, on January 30, 2020, Clampitt was working a night shift in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Jacksonville. A patient under Clampitt's care was prescribed and receiving an intravenous dose of fentanyl, which is used both as a pain medication and as anesthesia. Two fellow employees saw Clampitt using a syringe to inject a substance into the device that dispensed fentanyl into the patient, when there was no medically valid reason for Clampitt to do so. Laboratory testing eventually determined that the patient's dose of fentanyl had been diluted with saline. When interviewed by law enforcement officers, Clampitt eventually admitted that he had diverted drugs from patients at the hospital for personal use. An audit of hospital records showed multiple discrepancies in Clampitt's handling of controlled substances during the time he worked for the hospital, which had been less than a month. Investigators later learned that in 2019, a separate hospital had employed Clampitt and discovered discrepancies in its records that suggested he might have been diverting drugs for his own use. That hospital fired Clampitt after he refused to submit to a drug test. As part of his guilty plea, Clampitt admitted that he knew that his activities resulted in one or more critically ill patients receiving diluted fentanyl, which lacked prescribed quantities of active medication necessary to control pain. Having been deprived of medically-necessary medication, such patients would endure pain and suffering and were exposed to increased risks of illness and death, stemming from, among other things, possible infection and respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal complications. This case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Clampitt pleaded guilty on October 27, 2021.

Kansas City nurse charged with tampering with fentanyl. Vials were taken from an ADC and replaced with another liquid, then placed back in their cabinets.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse from Kansas City has been charged in federal court with stealing at least six vials of fentanyl from two hospitals. The nurse was charged with tampering with a consumer product and two charges of fraud and subterfuge in the possession of fentanyl. The vials were allegedly taken from an automatic dispensing cabinet by her. At both hospitals, the nurse allegedly replaced the fentanyl with another liquid and put the vials back in their cabinets, according to prosecutors who charged her following an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. She was indicted by a federal grand jury on four charges; two counts of illegally possessing fentanyl through deception or subterfuge and two counts of tampering with a consumer product. Prosecutors alleged that from early January into late April, 2020, the nurse used a fingerprint to gain access to automated drug-dispensing cabinets at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park and the AdventHealth Shawnee Mission hospital in Merriam. She took a total of at least six vials of fentanyl, removed the drug from them and replaced the drug with an “alternate liquid” before returning the vials to the medicine cabinets.

Kansas City nurse charged with tampering with fentanyl. Vials were taken from an ADC and replaced with another liquid, then placed back in their cabinets.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Nurse faces 10-year sentence for tampering with injectable hydromorphone then replacing the used vials with a saline solution.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Emilee Kathryn Poteat, 32, of Danville, Virginia, was sentenced on 6/1/22 to 54 months in prison for tampering with a consumer product, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston. The Poteat indictment, filed in June 2021, charges that from on or about July 1, 2020, continuing up to and including on or about October 28, 2020, the defendant did, with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of bodily injury and under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to such risk, tamper and attempt to tamper with a consumer product that affected interstate commerce to wit: three syringes of injectable hydromorphone, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1365(a)(4). According to court documents, from July to November 2020, Poteat -- a registered nurse – was employed as a contract nurse in the Clinical Pre/Post Procedure Unit (“CPPU”) at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center (“NHFMC”) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In that capacity Poteat was authorized to access the Pyxes machine located in the CPPU of NHFMC for the purpose of dispensing controlled substances, including injectable Hydromorphone, to patients at the direction of prescribing doctors. A Pyxis machine is a device used to securely store controlled medications and prevent unauthorized access to such substances. Controlled substances are stored in locked drawers which require the entry of both a fingerprint and a password before authorized medical personnel can open the drawers to withdraw a controlled substance. Further, a nurse or other authorized person must enter specific prescription information for an actual patient to access prescribed substances secured in the Pyxes machine. Vials of drugs stored in the Pyxes machine at NHFMC were held in container packages with each individual vial sealed with tamper evident seals and caps. From July 2020 through November 2020, Poteat opened container packages containing vials of injectable Hydromorphone that were stored in the Pyxes machine located in the CPPU at NHFMC. She then removed the vials from those container packages and opened the vials for the purpose of converting and consuming the Hydromorphone by injecting the drug into herself. After removing and converting injectable Hydromorphone, Poteat injected saline solution into the vials so as to conceal her conversion of the drugs and replaced the lids of the vials with glue. Poteat then placed the tampered-with vials which were filled with saline solution into the opened container packages, closed and re-sealed the container packages, and then left those container packages in the locked and secured Pyxes machine -- knowing that CPPU nurses might administer the compromised and tampered-with vials of injectable Hydromorphone to surgical patients in the CPPU at NHFCMC, despite the fact that such vials did not contain the drug and were filled with potentially contaminated saline solution. Poteat was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and will face three years of supervised release in addition to her 4-1/2 year prison sentence. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank J. Chut, Jr. The United States Food and Drug Administration investigated the case.

Nurse replaced morphine in vials with saline. One patient was rushed to the emergency room after receiving saline replacement instead of pain medications.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced on August 1, 2022, that Esther Rae Tuller, age 41, of Moses Lake, Washington, was sentenced today in federal court in Spokane for tampering with morphine medication while working as a registered nurse. Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Tuller to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. According to court documents, between August 2019 and April 2020, Tuller was a Washington-licensed registered nurse employed at the Confluence Health Clinic in Moses Lake. Her position as a nurse provided her with access to medications, including opioid narcotics such as morphine, an opioid derivative commonly prescribed by hospitals and health care facilities to relieve pain. While working at Confluence Health, Tuller used syringes to remove morphine from at least 17 vials, and then ingested that morphine as part of her own opioid addiction. She then replaced the morphine with a saline solution that was essentially salt dissolved in water, and attempted to glue the caps back onto the vials to make them appear intact. Before Tuller was apprehended by law enforcement, at least one Confluence Health patient who was prescribed morphine had to be rushed to the emergency room; that patient continued to be in excruciating pain after receiving only saline from what was supposed to be morphine vials. In sentencing Ms. Tuller, Chief Judge Bastian noted that Tuller’s conduct did not simply involve stealing medications, but putting patients at risk. United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref emphasized that fostering safe and strong communities in Eastern Washington means addressing the opioid epidemic in all of its forms. “While Ms. Tuller’s addiction to opioids is both tragic and far too common, her decision to take advantage of her access to medical-grade morphine was an egregious breach of trust. It is deeply troubling that she compounded her misconduct by secretly replacing that morphine with saline in vials that she knew would be distributed to patients, recklessly endangering patients who rely on the integrity of our health care system every day.” United States Attorney Waldref continued: “I want to especially commend the stellar investigative work by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Group and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who abuse their position of trust and endanger patients.” “Our DEA Diversion Investigators are another tool we are utilizing to address the opioid epidemic we are now facing,” said Jacob D. Galvan, Acting Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “Their actions and investigations helped remove an individual from a position of trust and stop any further harm from happening to vulnerable individuals.” “The FDA oversees the U.S. drug supply to ensure that it is safe and effective, and those who knowingly tamper with medicines put patients’ health at risk,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Iwanicki, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to protect the public health and bring to justice health care professionals who take advantage of their unique position and compromise their patients’ health and comfort by tampering with needed drugs.” This investigation was conducted by the DEA’s Diversion Group in the Seattle Field Office, and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Seattle Domicile. Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Tyler H.L. Tornabene prosecuted this matter on behalf of the United States. While working at Confluence Health, Registered Nurse Esther Rae Tuller removed morphine from vials with syringes and used it as part of her own addiction. She then tried to glue the covers back on the vials to make them appear intact, replacing the morphine with a saline solution. The crime of tampering carries a potential penalty of ten years in jail, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of post-release court supervision. Before Tuller was apprehended by law enforcement, at least one Confluence Health patient who was prescribed morphine had to be rushed to the emergency room; that patient continued to be in excruciating pain after receiving only saline from what was supposed to be morphine vials.

She used a syringe on vials of fentanyl and replaced it with another liquid, “knowing that the diluted fentanyl was to be dispensed to patients.”

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Alison Renee Marshall, 45, of Sturgis, Michigan, pled guilty on May 26, 2022, in the United States District Court in Lansing, Michigan, to a charge of tampering with a consumer product, specifically vials of liquid fentanyl at the hospital where she worked. According to court documents, Marshall, a registered nurse who previously was employed in the interventional radiology unit of a hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, removed liquid fentanyl and replaced it with saline solution in July and August of 2020. On August 20, 2020, another nurse working in the interventional radiology unit recognized that a 72-year-old cancer patient undergoing a percutaneous chest tube placement procedure did not receive the expected pain relief from the liquid fentanyl that was administered at the outset of the procedure. A subsequent investigation by the hospital’s staff pharmacist revealed that several vials of fentanyl in the unit’s automated medication dispensing machines had caps that appeared glued back on the vials. Hospital records revealed that Marshall checked out doses of fentanyl for patients 14 times from in July and August of 2020 but then canceled the transactions and purportedly returned the fentanyl back into the interventional radiology unit’s inventory. FDA laboratory examination of the vials with the glued caps revealed needle punctures consistent with tampering, and laboratory testing demonstrated that the vials were substantially diluted, containing 3% or less of the amount of reported fentanyl. On August 24, 2020, Marshall met with hospital representatives and admitted diverting fentanyl for her own use by removing vials of injectable fentanyl from the medication dispensing machines, extracting the fentanyl using syringes, replacing the medication with saline, gluing the plastic tampering caps back onto the vials, and returning the vials back into the unit’s medication dispensing machines. At a plea hearing before the United States District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou, Marshall acknowledged that by removing the fentanyl, refilling the vials with saline solution, and returning the vials to the hospital inventory, she acted with reckless disregard that a patient would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury and exhibited extreme indifference to such risk. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten stated, “Patients entering a hospital must have confidence they will receive the treatment they are promised.” He continued, “Marshall violated that trust and exposed vulnerable patients to possible infection and unnecessary pain and suffering. Today’s guilty plea brings us one step closer to accountability and sends a message to other would-be offenders that we will not sit back when they violate patients’ trust.” “Patients rely on the knowledge that they will receive FDA-approved medications to manage their pain,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who jeopardize patients’ health by tampering with their pain medications.” Marshall’s sentencing is scheduled for September 21, 2022. Marshall faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. The Court will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. This case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations.

Pharmacist distributed controlled substances in cooperation with a sponsor who diverted pills to illegal sales, “knowing that they were being diverted.”

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A pharmacist from Barbourville conspired to illegally distribute pain drugs, a federal grand jury has charged. The grand jury indicted Calvin L. Manis, who also is a city council member, on one charge of conspiring with John Pasternak and others to distribute oxycodone and oxymorphone between December 2015 and August 2019. The indictment also included 14 charges against Manis of dispensing prescription drugs outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical reason. He also was charged with operating his Parkway Pharmacy for the purpose of illegally distributing drugs. Federal authorities arrested Manis, 73, in June 2020. The indictment returned this week included more charges and added Pasternak as a defendant in the alleged conspiracy. Anthony Janutolo, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer, said in an affidavit supporting Manis’ arrest that Manis allegedly filled prescriptions in cooperation with a person who was paying the costs for other people to get prescriptions from doctors. In that arrangement, the person paying the bills, called a sponsor, typically gets some or all of the pills and diverts them to illegal sales. It has been a common practice in Kentucky and elsewhere. The sponsor, who was cooperating with police, said Manis had filled prescriptions for him when the person named on the order wasn’t present. Prosecutors first asked for Manis to be jailed until his trial but didn’t object to his release after family members took all the guns and ammunition from his house. Under his release conditions, Manis can’t work as a pharmacist or go to his drug store. The charges against Manis carry top sentences of up to 20 years in prison. If he’s convicted, the government also wants to take $34,587 found in the pharmacy’s account, the pharmacy, and Manis’ license. Manis was a longtime city council member in Barbourville before a 2009 federal conviction for not keeping proper records of firearms sales. He is back on the council now, according to the city’s website.

Doctor sponsored people to travel to a clinic four hours away to get oxycodone and oxymorphone that would be sold illegally or for clinic profit.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Tennessee doctor has admitted illegally prescribing pain pills that fed the drug problem in southeastern Kentucky. James J. Maccarone, of Clarksville, Tenn., pleaded guilty January 24, 2022 in federal court in London, Kentucky to conspiring to illegally distribute drugs. Maccrarone operated Gateway Medical Associates P.C., a pain-management clinic in Clarksville. A Kentucky resident charged in the conspiracy, Terry L. Prince of Barbourville, admitted that he sponsored people to go from the Knox County area to the Clarksville clinic, about four hours away, to get prescriptions for pain drugs called oxycodone and oxymorphone. Prince gave people money to cover the cost of the trip, the examination fee at the clinic and the prescriptions. In return, he got some or all of the pills to sell illegally, or the people who went to the clinic sold the drugs and shared the profits, according to Prince’s plea agreement. That kind of sponsorship arrangement has been common in Kentucky’s illicit drug trade, with traffickers who foot the bills getting pills to sell. Many of the people sponsored by the traffickers are addicted to drugs. The case against Maccarone is related to a separate case against Calvin Manis, a former Barbourville pharmacist charged with filling prescriptions in cooperation with a drug trafficker who was sponsoring other people to get the drug orders, according to court records. Prince sent people to Maccarone’s clinic because it operated as a supply of drugs to sell illegally, “not because (the clinic) provided legitimate medical care to the sponsored individuals,” according to his plea agreement. Maccarone acknowledged in his plea deal that the people he gave prescriptions “exhibited obvious signs of drug diversion and abuse.” Those red flags included people traveling long distances from the eastern end of Kentucky, sometimes in groups, and waiting long hours to see a doctor, even into the evening or early morning hours. The people coming to the clinic often tested positive for illegal drugs, or tested negative for the pills they were being prescribed at the clinic, an indication they were selling them instead of using them as prescribed, according to Maccarone’s plea document. The people also failed to appear for pill counts — which are a way for a doctor to make sure a patient is taking medication as prescribed — and paid more than $400 for each clinic visit. Maccarone also acknowledged that he “repeatedly failed” to adhere to accepted professional standards for treating pain. Among other things, he didn’t try other treatments before prescribing opioid painkillers, failed to draw up a valid treatment plan for patients and often did only cursory office visits with no real physical examination, according to his plea agreement. Prince and Maccarone face up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy charge, and Prince agreed to forfeit $250,000 to the government. Maccarone agreed to surrender his Tennessee medical license; forfeit the clinic property to the government; give up $204,186 from bank accounts; and pay the government $1.3 million to cover what he made from the conspiracy. The time period covered in the indictment was July 2016 to March 2021. Maccarone’s plea deal said he took part in improperly distributing more than 46,000 pills. Prince and Maccarone will be sentenced later. There are two others charged in the case: John L. Stanton, who worked as medical director at the Clarksville clinic and allegedly took part in the scheme to illegally write prescriptions, and Jeffrey L. Ghent, who allegedly sold drugs in Clay County. Stanton has pleaded not guilty. Ghent has filed a motion to plead guilty.

Former deputy accessed records to identify previous cases to visit the homes. He claimed to be following up to steal hydrocodone, Percocet, and others.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A former Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy was charged Friday with stealing prescription drugs from residents while on and off duty over the past few years. Michael Filsinger, 35, of Arnold has been charged with four felony counts of stealing a controlled substance, plus two misdemeanor charges: stealing and misuse of official information by a public servant, court records show. Calling it a "bad and embarrassing day for our department," Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak shared news of the arrest and charges Friday in a post and video on Facebook. Filsinger, who started with the agency in 2008, was fired in December, Marshak said. Filsinger is accused of accessing the department's records to identify previous prescription drug cases, including names, addresses and other information. Filsinger would visit the homes, claiming to be following up on the cases, and then stole the prescription drugs, according to police. The medications included hydrocodone, Percocet, morphine and Vicodin, court records show. Authorities said GPS tracking in Filsinger’s patrol vehicle confirmed that Filsinger had visited the residents despite having no personal or professional ties to them. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between September 2019 and December.

In one instance from October, Filsinger reportedly contacted a resident and offered to pick up a hydrocodone prescription. Two weeks later, he delivered it, but the resident discovered it had been replaced with an over-the-counter pain killer, court records say.

After these victims and several others cooperated with investigators, police said Filsinger had contacted some in "an attempt to intimidate or influence" them. He was in custody in the Jefferson County Jail on Friday. No attorney was listed for him.

Registered nurse refilled vials of fentanyl with saline and carefully re-glued the caps on to make it appear as if the vials were undisturbed.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Cedar Rapids surgery center nurse, who diverted fentanyl to her own use at a local outpatient surgery center, was sentenced on January 21, 2022, to five years probation. Sabrina Thalblum, age 52, from Cedar Rapids, received the sentence after a July 21, 2021, guilty plea to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge, and one count of adulteration and misbranding with intent to defraud and mislead. At her guilty plea and sentencing hearings, Thalblum admitted that, from about August 2018 to August 2019, she was an unlawful user of, and addicted to, fentanyl, a highly addictive opioid and controlled substance. Thalblum abused her position as a registered nurse to gain access to fentanyl at her employer, a local surgery center, and divert it to her own use. As a part of her scheme, Thalblum tampered with the vials of fentanyl. Thalblum removed the caps from vials of fentanyl at the outpatient surgery center and then carefully punctured the vials with needles and drew out the fentanyl. She then refilled the vials with saline to make the vials appear as if they still contained fentanyl. Thalblum also carefully reglued the caps of the vials to make it appear as if the vials were undisturbed, when, in truth, these consumer products no longer contained their declared values of fentanyl. In this way, the Thalblum made it appear as if the vials remained new, unopened, and filled with the controlled substance on their respective labels, that is, fentanyl, when, in truth, the Thalblum had diverted some or all of the fentanyl in the vials to herself. Thalblum was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Thalblum was sentenced to five years of probation and fined $10,000. She also must forfeit her nursing license. There is no parole in the federal system. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 20-CR-102.

Podiatrist prescribed opiates outside the course of medical practice in exchange for cash payments, sexual favors, and/or other illicit drugs.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Lansing podiatrist entered a guilty plea on January 24, 2022 to a two count Information charging unlawfully distribution of controlled substances for his involvement in a sex-for-drugs diversion scheme, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Kent Kleinschmidt , U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Field Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris, Homeland Security Investigations, Detroit Division, and Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Dr. Maninder Deswal, 44, of Lansing, was charged with unlawfully prescribing Oxycodone-Acetaminophen (Percocet) and Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen (Norco), highly addictive opioids, to various women outside the course of professional medical practice. From December 2018 to September 2020, Dr. Deswal would issue controlled substance prescriptions to women in exchange for cash payments, sexual favors, and/or other illicit drugs. These women were not patients and issuing them prescriptions was not for legitimate medical purposes, but rather personal consumption and further drug diversion. A sentencing date has been set for May 24, 2022 at 3:30 pm before United States District Judge Judith Levy. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brandy R. McMillion. McMillion serves as the District’s Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Prosecutor as well as the Deputy-Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit. The Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit is a Department of Justice initiative designating twelve special prosecutors across the country to focus on prosecuting medical professionals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis. The case was investigated by special agents and diversion investigators with the Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General along with assistance from the Ypsilanti Police Department and Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office.

Former Long Island doctor sentenced to 23 years in prison for causing the overdose deaths of two patients and illegally distributing oxycodone.

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On December 16, 2021, in federal court in Central Islip, Michael Belfiore, a former medical doctor, was sentenced by United States Circuit Judge Joseph F. Bianco to 23 years in prison for the illegal distribution of oxycodone causing the deaths of two patients and the illegal distribution of oxycodone to those patients and to an undercover detective. In addition, Belfiore was ordered to forfeit $7,270 in illegal fees that he took from the two deceased patients and the undercover detective and to pay $17,000 in restitution based upon costs associated with the overdose deaths that he caused. Belfiore was convicted of the charges by a federal jury in May 2018 following a five-week trial. Belfiore’s medical license has lapsed and he is no longer practicing medicine. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Keith Kruskall, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA), and Patrick J. Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department (NCPD), announced the sentence. “In violation of his oath to do no harm, Belfiore intentionally distributed highly addictive and potentially lethal opioids in dosages and quantities that resulted in the overdose deaths of two of his patients,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that this Office and its law enforcement partners will fight the opioid epidemic and seek serious punishment for medical professionals like Belfiore who betray their profession and use their prescription pads to further addiction, rather than as a tool to heal. I want to extend my sincere thanks to DEA’s Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad, who tenaciously investigated this case.” “During the midst of an opioid epidemic, the defendant chose to use his education and medical training to do harm, and at the expense of two of his patients’ lives,” stated DEA Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Kruskall. “DEA and its law enforcement partners will continue to seek justice for the victims who have been betrayed and have suffered greatly at that hands of those who were trusted with their health and wellbeing.” Belfiore, a former doctor of osteopathic medicine who primarily operated out of an office in Merrick, New York, illegally distributed oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Oxycodone is a powerful and highly addictive drug that is increasingly abused because of its potency when crushed into a powder and ingested. It is a controlled substance that may be dispensed by medical professionals only to patients suffering from significant pain that is documented through medical exams, diagnostic testing—such as x-rays and MRIs—and other objective proof. Although oxycodone is commonly prescribed in five milligram tablets, the trial evidence showed that Belfiore wrote thousands of 30 milligram prescriptions for oxycodone in quantities of up to 180 pills per month. At trial, the evidence established that on February 28, 2013, Belfiore gave an illegal prescription for 120 30 mg oxycodone pills to 42-year-old Edward Martin. On March 5, Mr. Martin overdosed and died in his bed after snorting the oxycodone obtained from Belfiore’s prescription. On April 12, 2013, Belfiore gave an illegal prescription for 150 30 mg oxycodone pills to 32-year-old John Ubaghs. On April 13, 2013, Mr. Ubaghs was found unresponsive after overdosing on oxycodone prescribed by Belfiore, and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Between March 2013 and August 2013, Belfiore intentionally dispensed six prescriptions of oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose to an undercover detective with the NCPD’s Narcotics Vice Squad. Belfiore created fake medical charts to justify those prescriptions and during office meetings with the undercover detective, Belfiore’s “treatment” consisted of a discussion of the defendant’s trip to San Diego and his interest in helicopters, yachts and cigarette boats. The case was investigated by the DEA’s Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad comprising agents and officers of the DEA, NCPD, Suffolk County Police Department, Port Washington Police Department and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Charles N. Rose and Bradley T. King are in charge of the prosecution.

CVS Pharmacy Manager falsified records and diluted hydromorphone meant for patients

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Police say pharmacist Brian Thomas Badgley of St. Albans was stealing medication for his personal use. An asset management leader for the company reported the business had opened up an investigation into some missing medication that revealed Badgley, who had been working as the store’s pharmacy manager, had been pocketing medications. Badgley was terminated from his position October 2021, and cited on charges of larceny, possessing a controlled substance, trespassing, and vandalism. Badgley entered a restricted and a controlled area and forcibly broke into a narcotic medication dispensing container. Badgley reported he had access to the entire store, including medication, as the pharmacy manager. He told the officer he would take the medication and then give the computer database tracking the drugs a fake number of remaining pills that wouldn’t trip the system. Investigators said Badgley had reportedly admitted to stealing the narcotic hydromorphone, which started in March and grew out of control. Badgley reported he would dilute the liquid afterward so no one would notice the amount he took. The officer said doing this caused sanitation concerns with the remaining liquid narcotic.

Gilead seized counterfeit medications in 17 locations and nine states, replaced in some cases with antipsychotics or over-the-counter painkillers.

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc. said that a network of little-known drug suppliers and distributors sold illicit and potentially dangerous fake versions of its HIV medicines that ended up in pharmacies and in the hands of patients. In all, Gilead identified 85,247 counterfeit bottles of its branded medications worth more than $250 million that were sold to pharmacies over the past two years following an intensive investigation and court-approved civil seizures, a company spokesman said. The Gilead spokesman said that many of the counterfeit drugs were purchased from homeless or drug-addicted HIV patients and then resold using falsified documentation. “Gilead has uncovered and stopped a complex and criminal enterprise distributing counterfeit Gilead HIV medication through the legitimate U.S. supply chain,” the spokesman said. The company uses the word “counterfeit” to include genuine medications that have faked documentation or altered packaging, as well as fake pills. Gilead filed a lawsuit in July 2021, which was unsealed on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, alleging that the distributors sold its HIV drugs with falsified documentation and altered packaging. In several cases, the bottles contained the wrong pills, including an over-the-counter painkiller and an antipsychotic drug instead of the HIV medications the patients were prescribed, the company alleged. An updated version of the complaint names dozens of defendants, including marketers, suppliers and distributors. The judge unsealed the case after asking Gilead last week to explain why the case should remain fully sealed, saying its continued investigation wasn’t a reason for sealing. Gilead said it didn’t object to the unsealing. In filing the lawsuit, Gilead has taken an under-the-radar approach, by hiring its own private investigators and working with federal and local law enforcement to execute seizures of the defendants’ offices and warehouses, before the defendants were aware of the case. The company sought the seizures under the Lanham Act, a federal trademark statute that allows for plaintiffs to execute civil seizures and litigate a case under seal if approved by a judge. Such seizures, which defendants aren’t aware of in advance, can be a quicker way of getting products off the market than through criminal-law channels, said Randy Gaw, who has represented wholesalers in Lanham Act cases but isn’t involved in the Gilead dispute. “It also gives the company more control over the process itself,” said Mr. Gaw. “When the evidence is seized by the government, it’s in the property of the government and not shared with the company.” As a result of the litigation, Gilead has conducted court-permitted seizures at warehouses and offices spanning 17 locations and nine states, the Gilead spokesman said. Gilead has asked a judge to award damages and to bar the defendants from selling its medications, “whether genuine or counterfeit.” Its claims include violations of trademark laws and that some defendants took part in a racketeering conspiracy. Gilead’s allegations pertain primarily to two of its HIV treatments, Biktarvy and Descovy, the latter of which is also used to prevent HIV infection. The drugs are projected to have had $10.2 billion in combined sales last year. Descovy and Biktarvy arrive at pharmacies in sealed bottles, so pharmacists have no role in filling the containers. A 2013 law required sellers of prescription drugs to provide buyers with a transaction history document known as a pedigree, which details each previous seller and buyer in the supply chain. The law was an effort to crack down on the practice of diverting medicines from the regulated supply chain and then reselling them to pharmacies at discounted prices using falsified pedigrees. In the court papers, Gilead said it first became aware of counterfeit medication in August 2020 after a report from White Cross Pharmacy in Brawley, Calif. That month, a customer called to tell the pharmacy that a bottle of Biktarvy contained the wrong pills, which turned out to be Tylenol, Shane Jerominski, White Cross’s pharmacist-in-charge, said in an interview. The patient didn’t take the pills, and the pharmacy replaced the medication with authentic Biktarvy, Mr. Jerominski said. He said he reported the fake pills to Gilead. Mr. Jerominski said White Cross purchased Biktarvy from Safe Chain Solutions LLC, a wholesale distributor based in Maryland, because it was charging a cheaper price than its primary wholesaler. “I had no way of knowing this was fake,” Mr. Jerominski said. An attorney for Safe Chain, which is a defendant in the suit, said his clients strongly disagree with Gilead’s allegations and that one of the company’s founding principles is protecting the safety and integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain. In court documents, Safe Chain accused Gilead of abusive litigation tactics. The company also said it never sold products it was aware were counterfeit, and quarantined products that it suspected were counterfeit. After Gilead determined that the fake pills weren’t an isolated incident, it sent an alert to all U.S. retail pharmacies warning of fake pills distributed by Safe Chain, the Gilead spokesman said. The March 2021 notice said that Gilead received pharmacy reports of five instances in which patients returned bottles of Biktarvy or Descovy that contained foreign tablets. In July 2021, Gilead learned that Woody Weaver Pharmacy in Tyler, Texas, had purchased bottles of Biktarvy from Scripts Wholesale Inc., court documents say. The pedigree traced the bottles from a wholesaler to authorized distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. , the documents say. But Gilead said the pedigree was fake. Jackie Weaver, who operates the Texas pharmacy, said that Amerisource told him that the pedigree was fake, and that he returned the bottles to Scripts for a refund. Scripts, a defendant in the suit, declined to comment. An Amerisource spokeswoman said the company used transactional data to confirm that the allegedly falsified medicines had not moved through its facilities. Gilead said it was aware of eight bottles with foreign tablets that Safe Chain sold to pharmacies. One held an over-the-counter painkiller, another an HIV drug made by another company, three contained the antipsychotic drug Seroquel, and the remainder contained other Gilead drugs. One patient who unknowingly took Seroquel instead of their HIV pill “could not speak or walk afterwards,” Gilead said in a court filing. After a judge granted permission, Gilead executed seizures on July 26, 2021, when it seized more than a thousand bottles of its medications from Safe Chain. In August, the company issued a public warning in a statement on its website. “Distributors not authorized by Gilead to sell Gilead-branded medicine have sold these counterfeits to pharmacies where genuine Gilead bottles have been tampered with a counterfeit foil induction seal or label and contain incorrect tablets,” the company said in a statement. It said it was working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pharmacies and legal authorities. Later in August, Gilead seized more than 17,000 bottles of Gilead-labeled medicines from wholesaler ProPharma Distribution LLC, all of which had counterfeit pedigrees and many of which had counterfeit labels, Gilead says in the documents. A lawyer for ProPharma, a defendant in the case, didn’t respond to a request for comment. In court documents, ProPharma said it denied the allegations in the case.

Pharmacy tech charged after around 70 tablets of opioids, depressants, and stimulants went missing, some of which were set aside to be destroyed

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Bennington pharmacy technician has pleaded not guilty to allegations he stole prescription pills while working at the local hospital in May. The defendant, Timothy Davis II, is facing two charges: obtaining a regulated drug by fraud, a felony, and embezzling property of less than $100, a misdemeanor. His felony charge is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Davis, 23, pleaded not guilty in Bennington Superior criminal court on June 21. His charges are linked to the time he was working at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s pharmacy department, according to court documents. Bennington police, who investigated the case, said SVMC officials reported on June 1 that they found a significant amount of prescription drugs missing from the hospital pharmacy and suspected Davis of having illegally taken them. Sometime between May 25 and the end of that month, according to a police statement of probable cause for Davis’ charges, pharmacy employees discovered they were missing around 70 tablets: a mix of opioids, depressants and stimulants. It said a film of suboxone, used to treat opioid addiction, was also gone. Reports from the safe that held the missing medication found that “the main common denominator of all events was Tim Davis’ access to the safe,” the police affidavit quoted an SVMC pharmacy supervisor as saying in a written statement. Surveillance video reportedly shows Davis tampering with some pills. Sgt. Jason Burnham, who wrote the affidavit, said pharmacy video from the morning of May 28 shows Davis opening a blister pack of two 10 mg Oxycontin, an extended-release opioid. The investigator said Davis throws away the empty medicine pack but keeps the pills in his right hand, later putting them in his mouth, between sips of iced coffee. The pills were valued at $20. Davis, who was then under probation as a new employee, has since been terminated by SVMC. Bennington police issued him a notice not to trespass on the lands and property of the hospital, according to the affidavit. Davis' license has been suspended pending adjudication.

Pharmacy technician stole Gabapentin tablets by placing single tablets in her pockets.

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

While employed as a pharmacy technician at CVS, Mary Kathleen (Katy) Kudrey stole multiple tablets of gabapentin by placing single tablets in her pockets. Kudrey’s license to practice as a pharmacy technician has been suspended.

Dental practice employee generated fake prescriptions for controlled substances with forged signatures of licensed prescribers

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Lindsey Cox, 37, of Swanton, Vermont, was sentenced on December 20, 2021 in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont. Cox previously had pleaded guilty to conspiring to acquire controlled substances by fraud and theft in connection with healthcare. According to Court records, Cox formerly was an employee at a dental practice in St. Albans, Vermont. Between April and November 2016, Cox conspired with another employee to generate fake prescriptions for controlled substances and forge the signature of a licensed prescriber. Cox and others then filled the fake prescriptions - which typically were for Oxycodone - at several area pharmacies. In total, investigators identified 46 fake prescriptions. In addition, between May 2016 and August 2017, Cox embezzled $71,942.60 from her employer by manipulating and falsifying payment records in the dental practice’s billing software. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Albans Police Department investigated this case, together with the U.S. Border Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies and, in particular, the work of the DEA’s drug diversion investigation as well as the St. Albans Police Department’s work to uncover Cox’s embezzlement.

Registered nurse in Colorado Intensive Care Unit stole fentanyl from the IV bags of ventilated patients.

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Katie Elizabeth Muhs, age 34, of Littleton, CO, was sentenced for her felony conviction for illegally obtaining fentanyl through fraud and deception while on the job as a Registered Nurse. Muhs was employed as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in Colorado in 2019 when she used her position to divert fentanyl, a schedule II controlled substance, for her own personal use. She admitted that between June 2019 and September 2019, she stole fentanyl by removing it from the IV bags of ventilated patients using a sterile syringe. She also admitted to stealing fentanyl remaining in vials of the drug after patient administration. The defendant stated she would remove the excess drug from the vials and replace the stolen drug with saline, then have a fellow nurse witness her “waste,” or dispose of, the saline. The diversion of pain medications was stopped by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA and the Kansas City field office's criminal investigation team. DEA: "We want it to be known that healthcare professionals who take advantage of patients in need by stealing their medications will be held accountable".

Registered Nurse who stole hydromorphone from patient-controlled analgesia pumps and told them it was part of a study faces 4 years of imprisonment and fine.

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Alicia Nicole Nickel-Tangeman, age 44, entered guilty pleas to four counts of obtaining controlled substances. Nickel-Tangeman used her position as Registered Nurse to access the rooms of patients she was not assigned to care for in a separate unit of a Colorado hospital. She would remove hydromorphone from patient-controlled analgesia pumps. She told patients it was for a study, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Colorado said in a news release. Nickel-Tangeman then used a key to open the machine that secured the syringe of hydromorphone that was to be dispensed to the patient and removed a portion of the drug from the syringe, which she kept, then returned the syringe to the patient’s PCA. The defendant illegally obtained controlled substances in this way from three patients on four occasions. She faced four years imprisonment and a quarter million dollar fine for her felony offense. The diversion of pain medications was stopped by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA and the Kansas City field office's criminal investigation team. DEA: "We want it to be known that healthcare professionals who take advantage of patients in need by stealing their medications will be held accountable".

Pharmacist employed at Walmart Pharmacy in Milan Tennessee was found guilty of drug diversion by the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Tennessee Board of Pharmacy found Sheri G. Simeon, D.Ph., guilty of drug diversion. The pharmacist was employed at Walmart Pharmacy in Milan Tennessee. Simeon provided statements that on several occasions in the last year she had removed Phentermine tablets to boost her energy, and due to stress, long hours, and inefficiency of work environment. Respondent’s license was placed on suspension until undergoing an evaluation approved by the Tennessee Pharmacy Recovery Network and comply with recommendations; after completion of evaluation, suspension stayed and license placed on probation until terms of order are met.

Oakland, Tennessee Pharmacy Technician diverted $4,294,64 of opioids in the fall of 2019.

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Tennessee Board of Pharmacy found Jessica M. Waldman guilty of drug diversion, and his license was voluntarily surrendered. While employed as a Pharmacy Technician at BETTERx Pharmacy located in Oakland, Tennessee, in the fall of 2019, they diverted Acetaminophen with Codeine #3 and other drugs. They were also observed selling handfuls of Norco 10 and Soma while on duty, and drinking from bottles and taking tablets from bottles and re-sealing the bottle. An inventory revealed various opioids were diverted, a total of 2,761 pills valued at $4,294,64.

The former coroner’s analyst has been charged with stealing methamphetamine collected at death scene investigations.

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A former coroner’s analyst in San Francisco has been charged with stealing methamphetamine collected at death scene investigations, authorities said Thursday. Justin Volk, who surrendered Thursday, faces two misdemeanor charges of theft and receiving stolen property, the district attorney’s office announced. It wasn’t clear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf. Volk was a forensic laboratory analyst in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and his duties included processing and storing evidence from death scene investigations, according to a statement from the DA’s office. Volk was arrested last year in Utah and a search of his car turned up methamphetamine in a labeled medical examiner evidence bag, which had been stored in an evidence room, prosecutors said. Volk worked at the forensic laboratory for nearly 13 years but was fired after his arrest. He was involved in testing, collecting and preserving evidence in more than 2,500 investigations, including deaths, sexual assaults and cases involving driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to the San Francisco public defender’s office. The district attorney’s office will review criminal cases in which Volk was involved “to ensure that no conviction or punishment has been improperly tainted,” the DA’s statement said.

They obtained 47 prescriptions in the names of at least five dogs at the clinic operated by his girlfriend written by a veterinarian who worked there.

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Ryan Lowry Patrick, 34, of Gray, Tennessee, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to one count of obtaining drugs by fraud and one count of using the registration number of another in the course of acquiring a controlled substance. He worked at Rite Aid in Saltville and was accused of filling prescriptions in the names of at least five dogs that belonged to Patrick and his girlfriend using her veterinary clinic in Bluff City, Tennessee. The prescriptions were written by a veterinarian who worked at the veterinary clinic operated by Bailey's girlfriend. A review by the DEA of the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program confirmed that between January 7, 2019 and December 29, 2019 approximately 47 prescriptions were filled in the names of the five dogs. All of these prescriptions were allegedly issued or authorized by the veterinarian. Agents with the DEA reviewed records at the Saltville Rite Aid and were unable to trace the origins of the prescriptions listed in the PMP. He faces up to four years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.

The pharmacist sold hydrocodone without a prescription in exchange for cash, and was found guilty of unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dothan pharmacist Richard Allen Strickland will spend 87 months in federal prison for unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, after which he will be on supervised release for three years. Strickland, who owned Allen's pharmacy, dispensed pain killers to those who peddled them on the streets, then paid Strickland afterwards, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Strickland admitted to selling 14 hydrocodone pills to an individual without a prescription in exchange for cash in July, 2020.

The anesthesiologist at Buffalo General Medical Center worked for a private physician group that provided services at Kaleida Health hospitals.

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

An anesthesiologist has been accused of falsifying patient records at Buffalo General Medical Center in order to obtain the powerful opioid fentanyl, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office. John R. LoFaso, 34, of Williamsville was arraigned Tuesday morning in Buffalo City Court on a felony charge of falsifying a patient's medical records after the patient's chart had been closed in order to obtain fentanyl for personal use while working as an anesthesiologist at Buffalo General Medical Center. He was also accused of two misdemeanors – seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fraud and deceit related to controlled substances, prosecutors said. LoFaso was not an employee of the hospital, but rather worked for a private physician group that provided anesthesia services at Kaleida Health hospitals, said Michael P. Hughes, Kaleida's chief administrative officer. The hospital's pharmacy manager discovered the diversion of the drug as part of an internal audit process and notified the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. If convicted, LoFaso could face up to four years in prison.

Prosecutors say he ignored signs that patients were addicts or even diverting the drugs and kept writing the scripts.

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A physician from Dublin was found guilty on November 18, 2021 of 14 counts of illegally prescribing opioids and other commonly abused medications to patients in what federal authorities allege became a pill mill "fueled by greed" that turned him "from doctor to drug dealer." Dr. Edmund Kemprud, who was charged nearly two years ago, was accused of running his negligent operation in multiple locations in the East Bay and Central Valley, including one in Dublin California and another in the back room of a nail salon and medi-spa in Tracy. Evidence at his trial showed he ignored signs that patients were addicts or even diverting the drugs and kept writing the scripts nonetheless, prosecutors said. "This defendant displayed a blatant disregard for patient safety and the law," Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a statement after the verdict last Friday . "Although he knew his treatment of patients was unlawful, he continued to pump dangerous drugs into the community." "It took the effort of agents, investigators, undercover officers, medical professionals who practiced with the defendant and pharmacists to bring an end to Kemprud's illicit prescription writing," Talbert added. "The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue our vigorous pursuit of those who fuel the opioid epidemic for their own personal benefit." Kemprud, 78, had pleaded not guilty to all of the federal charges. Defense attorney Douglas J. Beevers had not responded to a request for comment sent to the Federal Defender's Office for the Eastern District of California. Kemprud faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on Feb. 14., 2022. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose department assisted in the investigation, said the Dublin case demonstrated just one example in the long battle against wrongdoing in the opioid epidemic. "We trust our doctors by putting our health in their hands. When doctors violate their oath to do no harm, we must take action -- especially when it comes to illegally prescribing opioids. I'm grateful for our investigative partners ... for successfully putting a stop to this doctor's harmful practices," Bonta said. According to prosecutors, Kemprud had developed a reputation for prescribing highly addictive, commonly abused medications such as Hydrocodone, Alprazolam and Oxycodone "outside the usual course of professional practice and not for legitimate medical purpose." "Instead, he wrote more prescriptions for highly addictive and dangerous controlled substances, charging $79 a visit. He churned out prescriptions so quickly that he often spent less than five minutes with a patient and would see 30 patients in less than a day," prosecutors said. Several pharmacies were apparently so alarmed by the doctor's record that they instituted company-wide policies to block his prescriptions, according to prosecutors. An undercover operation helped unravel the scheme, prosecutors said, noting that officers' testimony at the trial showed Kemprud on 14 occasions between September 2018 and March 2019 "prescribed opioids without determining the patients' medical and prescription histories, without conducting a proper medical examination, without confirming the legitimacy of the patients' complaints, and without assessing the risk of aberrant drug behavior." Kemprud was convicted of all 14 counts in the indictment last Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. "Fueled by greed, Edmund Kemprud went from doctor to drug dealer when he began running a prescription pill mill for powerful opioids," said Wade R. Shannon, special agent in charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "Kemprud's actions not only preyed upon those battling addiction, but also contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis. This verdict underscores our commitment to hold unscrupulous doctors accountable for their actions," Shannon added. Agencies involved in the investigation included the DEA's Oakland Tactical Diversion Squad, California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse Drug Diversion Team and the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Assistant U.S. attorney Veronica M.A. Alegría and special assistant U.S. attorney Robert J. Artuz prosecuted the case.

Investigation into missing Hydrocodone reveals an additional missing 30 Norco tablets, and that the nurse's license was already suspended.

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse's license to practice as an LPN in South Carolina was suspended by Administrative Suspension of License on March 15, 2018. From around September to October 2018, while employed at Patewood Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Greenville, South Carolina, the nurse was investigated for diversion of Hydrocodone from two patients. Also, the nurse had taken narcotic log sheets from the facility and had not returned them. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that in October 2018, an additional 30 tablets of Norco was missing for a patient. After a complete search, the Norco for both patients was not located. However, neither patient missed any doses of medication as the facility replaced the missing Norco at their expense. During the facility's investigation, it was noted that the the nurse's license was under suspension from a Board Order dated March 15, 2018. The nurse did not inform the facility that her license was suspended. The nurse asserts that she was unaware of her suspension until the facility informed her. The nurse completely denied drug diversion and had no knowledge of missing Hydrocodone. However, she did take the narcotic sheet and other documents home when she left due to a personal emergency. Only two months later, she was working at Elite Home Care until July 2019, when the nurse walked in an application to reinstate her license. On the Reinstatement Application, the nurse answered "No" regarding any unresolved or pending complaints having been filed against her and failed to disclose the pending case against her. In addition, the nurse forged the signature of a co-worker on the Employer Certification form and falsely answered questions. At this point, Elite Home Care discontinued employment with the nurse. The nurse's license was placed on probation and she was fined $1,500.00.

The former nurse exploited her knowledge of her employer’s internal controls to obtain more than 2,200 vials of fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine and midazolam.

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A former certified registered nurse anesthetist was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to five federal felony counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, misrepresentation or deceit, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Elizabeth A. Prophitt previously worked at the VA Hospital in Ann Arbor. As alleged in the Indictment, Prophitt utilized her position as a surgical nurse aesthesis to retrieve vials of controlled substance medications from hospital dispensing machines for purported use on patients. The purpose of obtaining these controlled substances was not for the legitimate treatment of patients, but rather for her own personal consumption and/or drug diversion. The indictment alleged that Prophitt would retrieve medications on days when she was unscheduled to work or after normal working hours; retrieve medications for patients that were not on her surgery service; retrieve medications for surgeries that had been canceled or had already been completed; retrieve more medication than required for a patient’s surgery and keep the unused portions; and falsify “waste” records to keep any unused medication instead of properly returning or disposing of the controlled substances. Prophitt exploited her knowledge of her employer’s internal controls to obtain these controlled substances, which would go unnoticed. From July 2018 to February 2019, she accessed more than 2200 vials of controlled substances such as fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine, and midazolam, which were believed to be obtained by fraud, misrepresentation, and deceit. The defendant faced a maximum sentence of imprisonment of four years for each count of the Indictment, and a maximum fine of $250,000. The case was investigated by the VA Office of Inspector General and the DEA, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Brandy R. McMillion. McMillion serves as the District’s Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Prosecutor as well as the Deputy-Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit. The Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit is a Department of Justice initiative designating twelve special prosecutors across the country to focus on prosecuting medical professionals that are contributing to the nation’s opioid crisis.

The two Chicago suburban physicians were indicted on federal criminal charges for dispensing hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, and other controlled substances to various individuals without meaningful physical examinations or medical tests

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Two suburban Chicago physicians have been indicted on federal criminal charges for allegedly prescribing opioids to individuals who lacked a legitimate medical need for the drugs. STANLEY DAVID DEMOREST managed Demorest Consultants LLC, a medical practice in Melrose Park, Ill. NICHOLAS RECCHIA was employed there as a physician. From 2015 to 2020, Demorest and Recchia agreed to dispense hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, and other controlled substances to various individuals who visited Demorest Consultants but received no meaningful physical examination or medical tests, and whom Demorest and Recchia knew had no legitimate medical need for the drugs, according to an indictment returned Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Demorest, who in 2015 voluntarily surrendered his DEA Registration Number and lost his ability to lawfully prescribe controlled substances, used Recchia’s name and DEA Registration Number to issue prescriptions for controlled substances to patients, the charges allege. Demorest and Recchia also caused pharmacies to submit numerous claims to Medicare and Medicaid seeking payment for the improper prescriptions, the indictment states. The indictment charges Demorest, 65, of Bloomingdale, Ill., and Recchia, 62, of River Grove, Ill., with conspiracy to dispense controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. The pair also face individual counts of health care fraud and unlawful dispensing of controlled substances. Arraignments in federal court in Chicago have not yet been scheduled. The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Bell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the DEA; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin G. Klamann and Valerie R. Raedy. The charges were brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Opioid Task Force, which was formed in November 2019 for the purpose of combatting the growing number of unlawful distributions of controlled substances fueling the nation’s opioid crisis. The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Delaware doctor convicted of illegally distributing powerful prescription painkillers such as fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone and morphine for profit

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A federal jury convicted a former Delaware doctor on 7/21/21 for unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances and for maintaining a drug-involved premises. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Patrick Titus, former M.D., 58, of Milford, unlawfully distributed or dispensed a variety of powerful opioids, including fentanyl, morphine, methadone, OxyContin and oxycodone, outside the usual scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Titus operated an internal medicine practice whereby he would frequently prescribe hundreds of these dangerous controlled substances in high dosages, sometimes in combination with each other or in other dangerous combinations, mostly in exchange for cash. Although these Schedule II drugs are approved for pain management treatment, Titus provided no meaningful medical care and, instead, prescribed these controlled substances to patients he knew were suffering from substance use disorder and/or who demonstrated clear signs that the prescribed drugs were being abused, diverted or sold on the street. “Doctors who illegitimately prescribe opioid medications are fueling the country’s opioid crisis,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Not only does unlawfully prescribing opioids facilitate their diversion and misuse by patients, but it also allows doctors who commit these unlawful acts to exploit their roles as stewards of their patient’s care for their own personal profit. This verdict serves as a reminder that such abuse will be not be tolerated and that we will be resolute in our pursuit of justice.” “Dr. Titus was convicted of illegally distributing powerful prescription painkillers such as fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone and morphine for profit,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Shawn R. Ellerman of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division and head of the DEA’s operations across the state of Delaware. “His conviction is an appropriate resolution for his utter and total disregard for his ethical and legal obligations as a medical doctor, especially due to the fact that he distributed these drugs knowingly to people suffering from substance use disorder.” “This verdict holds Dr. Titus accountable for his actions and should serve as a warning to others that the illegal prescribing of dangerous narcotics will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will continue to work with our partners at the DEA, FDA and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate allegations of drug diversion and keep our communities safe from illegal prescription drugs.” Titus was convicted of 13 counts of unlawful distribution and dispensing of controlled substances and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 9, and faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison per count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Former dental office administrative assistant embezzled $23,000 and obtained fraudulent prescriptions from at least 6 local pharmacies.

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A former Attleboro woman charged with obtaining fraudulent painkiller prescriptions with information she got from a dental office where she worked was placed on two years’ probation Monday. Saskia R. Tyrone, 33, formerly of Bushee Street, was an administrative assistant at New England Dental Specialists in Norwood where prosecutors say she obtained patient information from the computer system to obtain the prescriptions. She admitted in Attleboro District Court that there was enough evidence to convict her and was placed on probation with her case continued without a finding. Prosecutors recommended she serve six months of an 18-month sentence with the balance suspended with probation. Tyrone was also charged in another jurisdiction with embezzling $23,000 from the dental office, according to a prosecutor. Tyrone, who is battling drug addiction, is on probation in Dorchester District Court where she is enrolled in a drug court for similar offenses. An investigator for the state police drug diversion unit said Tyrone obtained 21 fraudulent prescriptions that she used at CVS on Route 1 in North Attleboro, CVS on North Main Street in Attleboro and Walgreens on Pleasant Street in Attleboro in addition to pharmacies in Norwood, Dedham and Charlestown. Her lawyer, Paul Carlucci of Franklin, argued against sending his client to jail, saying Tyrone was a victim of domestic violence and has no criminal record of convictions. She is the mother of a 4-year-old girl, Tyrone told Judge Edmund Mathers.

Former dental office administrative assistant embezzled $23,000 and obtained fraudulent prescriptions from at least 6 local pharmacies.

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Former dental office administrative assistant embezzled $23,000 and obtained fraudulent prescriptions from at least 6 local pharmacies.

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Former dental office administrative assistant embezzled $23,000 and obtained fraudulent prescriptions from at least 6 local pharmacies.

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Ballad Health informed her of a potential exposure that occurred after an early May surgery – the result of an individual who improperly handled controlled substances

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Amy Hunter will spend a nerve-wracking weekend waiting to get tested for hepatitis and HIV after Ballad Health informed her Thursday of a potential exposure that occurred after an early May surgery – the result of “an individual who improperly handled controlled substances.” “It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” Hunter told News Channel 11 Friday. “I haven’t slept, my nerves are tore all to pieces.” A veteran nurse first alerted supervisors to the possibility of the improper handling, Ballad said in a statement. The violation “occurred during a specific period of time from May-July and on a single patient care unit,” the statement reads. A Ballad representative called Hunter Thursday and recommended she go get tested, at Ballad’s expense. “I was like, ‘you’re a liar, this is a prank, you know this isn’t very funny, it’s not nice,’” Hunter said. “She was like, ‘I assure you this is anything but a prank.’” Not long after, the mail arrived. When she saw the envelope from Ballad Hunter’s mindset shifted. “I had a feeling that it was what she had said it was, that –and then when I opened it my heart just dropped. I mean it’s total fear that can be placed into anybody.” The caller had told Hunter she could call back and Ballad would answer any questions. The letter, signed by Chief Infection Prevention Officer Jamie Swift, left her unsure what to do. “But when I got the letter and it all sank in I had so many questions as to how could have this have happened, am I gonna have any of these (illnesses). It’s a lot of fear and anxiety that goes along with it because you don’t know.” Ballad declined further comment Friday, but the statement said when the veteran nurse, whom Ballad called “a hero,” alerted someone: “Management immediately commenced an investigation, removed the offending individual and notified the Tennessee Department of Health, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the office of the District Attorney. Hunter, who has an 11-year-old son, has a history of cancer and had multiple surgeries including a hysterectomy in early May. She said her care was good and the surgery “went great.” She’d recently been released to return to work. “I was really excited that everything was healing the way it was supposed to and that I was on the right path to recovery.” After Thursday’s experience, Hunter said she’s left with countless questions. “Do they not do regular drug screenings even on people that are coming in?” she said. “I mean there’s so many questions that I do have that I would like to have answered, but.” Despite her many questions and Ballad’s offer to answer them, Hunter doesn’t have immediate plans to speak to representatives there. “At this point, I plan on getting an attorney and going from there, because this should not happen to anybody, no matter who it is,” Hunter said. At first, Hunter was just reeling from the shock. But one of her four sisters, Victoria Tinsley, was immediately wanting answers. “Figure out how this even happened. That was my main question was like, how, and why,” Tinsley said. If an attorney tells the family it’s okay to speak to Ballad, Tinsley said she’s ready. “I’d like to know their steps on what they’re going to do to prevent this from happening again,” Tinsley said. “And I want to know how this happened to begin with and I would love – I have a lot of questions I’d like to ask them.” While Hunter and Tinsley wonder about how this could have happened, a quick information search shows drug diversion in health care settings is not extremely rare. A 2019 brief publication from The Joint Commission, which accredits hospitals, highlighted the issue. It cited statistics that “suggest that about 10 percent of health care workers are abusing drugs.” The publication said opioid abuse is “a major driver of drug diversion.” Hunter said she was administered an opioid for pain after her surgery. It said experts believe “only a fraction of those who are diverting drugs are ever caught” — and it listed multiple risks to patients. Risks included inadequate pain relief and “exposure to infectious diseases from contaminated needles and drugs…” The paper also noted diversion “can be costly to an organization by damaging its reputation, and may lead to major civil and criminal monetary penalties.” Ballad’s reputation is damaged in Hunter’s eyes. She said Ballad offered blood tests and encouraged her to get them there – and that the system said it would provide treatment options at its expense if she were positive for any of the possible viruses. She said she’s not going to return. “I don’t trust them,” Hunter said. “I trusted them once and look what happened to me. You trust them to take care of you and to give you proper treatment. Not take it from you.” Now the family, including Hunter’s mother, Tinsley and her other four siblings as well as uncles and aunts, is left to wait through an anxious weekend. “I hope that the tests come back negative,” Tinsley said. “Because I know that they said it’s low risk and stuff, and I hope and pray that that’s true and just not something to try to calm everybody down with. “But,” she said before pausing for several seconds — “I’m worried about her.” Tinsley said the sisters, who were born in the same calendar year, are “inseparable.” “We both cried together, we both (asked) ‘why?’ together. It’s scary. “And I hope whoever did this, the person responsible is arrested and put in jail for it.” For her part, Hunter is just wanting the results. “I’m going to ask them to rush it,” she said. “As anybody probably would.” She hasn’t yet told her son. “I’m not really sure how I would approach him to have a conversation like that with him, because I don’t want him to have any fears of going to the doctors. I don’t want to relay my fears on to him.”

License suspended indefinitely after multiple times diverting at other facilities between 1990 and 2020.

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A local registered nurse, with convictions and violations for illegally obtaining pain medicines that were supposed to be given to her patients over decades, pleaded guilty Thursday in Accomack Circuit Court to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud on April 23, 2020, at Shore Health and Rehab Center, in Parksley. Fifty-nine-year-old Barbara Annette Powell, also known as Barbara Annette Powell Velvin, of Accomac, was allowed to remain free on bond until she is sentenced, on Jan. 13. A plea agreement called for her to be sentenced within guidelines that will be based on the offense and prior convictions. Judge W. Revell Lewis III ordered a short-form pre-sentence report. After court Thursday, Commonwealth’s Attorney Spencer Morgan said, “The agreement was to ensure the conviction of the defendant allowing the licensing board to take action against her professional license. We believe we’re doing the best thing possible to ensure that she can’t practice as a nurse … We did everything in our power.” He expected drug abuse treatment to be recommended as well. According to a summary of evidence, the amount of morphine recorded was low on a chart at the Parksley center. Powell and another worker were screened. Powell was found to have three drugs in her system, including the addictive pain reliever, Oxycodone. She admitted she had a “a moment of weakness” after hearing devastating news. An assistant prosecutor said, “No damage was caused to her patients.” The drugs found in her system did not include morphine and she denied taking that drug. Defense lawyer Tucker Watson said Powell works at Heritage Hall, (now called The Citadel). “They are extremely short staffed right now and are aware of the charge,” he said. According to records posted on the state’s website, Powell’s license was suspended in November 1991 because of her “diversion of certain Schedule II and VI controlled substances, alteration of prescriptions, impairment while on duty, and a felony conviction of five counts of obtaining prescription drugs by forgery or alteration of a prescription.” The drugs included Valium, Butalbital, and Demerol. She eventually received treatment. In 1992, she was released by the Mecklenburg County Circuit Court “from further supervised probation of random drug testing. In 1993, she was an outpatient in a substance abuse program and was successfully discharged with the recommendation for participation in Alanon meetings.” According to the record, Powell said, “she has not used any controlled substances since November 1990 and stopped using alcohol in June 1993. She was found competent to return to nursing and her license was reinstated in 1994. Her license was again suspended in 2002. She was convicted on more fraud charges in 2003, also in Mecklenburg and reinstated later in the year. In 2008, she diverted Dilaudid, Morphine and Xanax. The record stated, “Ms. Powell is unable to safely practice as a professional nurse due to alcohol and/or substance abuse and/or physical illness and/or mental illness, as she acknowledged in signing a Recovery Monitoring Contract with the Virginia Health Practitioner’ Intervention Program, dated Feb. 9, 2009.” At that time, her license was “indefinitely suspended.” She again got her license back and in 2017 was back to diverting Dilaudid and Morphine while assigned to work at Bon Secours Memorial regional Medical Center, in Mechanicsville, according to the board records.

License suspended indefinitely after multiple times diverting at other facilities between 1990 and 2020.

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

License suspended indefinitely after multiple times diverting at other facilities between 1990 and 2020.

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Former Renovo nurse is accused of stealing narcotics on at least 63 separate occasions

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a former nurse who allegedly stole narcotics while on the job at a Union County hospital. Alexander R. Neiman, 32, of Renovo, is accused of stealing narcotics on at least 63 separate occasions during his employment at Evangelical Community Hospital in Kelly Township, according to court documents. Neiman began working at the hospital on May 17, 2021. Shortly after Neiman started, staff noticed odd occurrences with the narcotics log, according to the affidavit written by Pennsylvania State Police at Milton Trooper Kyle Thorpe. It was noted Neiman allegedly pulled narcotics for patients that were not prescribed to them and documented the narcotics as being wasted, meaning they were disposed of. The hospital contacted state police on Aug. 13 regarding the alleged thefts. It was found that Neiman had withdrawn hydromorphine, morphine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and Ativan numerous times since his start date, Thorpe wrote. Nurses who witnessed Neiman discard the narcotics told investigators that “he acted odd while doing it and would intentionally distract them.” Investigators observed video footage of Neiman withdrawing medications several times and then going into the bathroom afterward. Neiman also had been pulling more than the prescribed amount for patients and only administered partial doses, Thorpe wrote. A felony charge of manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to deliver, and misdemeanors of theft by unlawful taking and possession of a controlled substance were filed last week at the office of District Judge Jeffrey A. Rowe.

Denver nurse accused of stealing narcotics did not disclose during hiring that she was fired from another facility for misconduct in 2008.

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A nurse at St. Anthony Central Hospital has been accused of stealing narcotics and faces six criminal charges. Jillian Fischer was arrested on six counts of fraudulently obtaining controlled substances between May 24 and June 6, 2009. Fischer, who has been released on $3,000 bail, allegedly took Dilaudid, Fentanyl, Vicodin, Ativan, morphine and Valium from the hospital. An arrest affidavit said Fischer told co-workers she injected herself with Dilaudid, a form of morphine. Hospital spokeswoman Bev Lilly said none of patients were deprived of medication and the case did not involve tampering. Fischer also did not tell St. Anthony Central that she had previously pleaded guilty to a felony. Nor did she disclose that she was fired from Swedish Medical Center for misconduct in January 2008, said Bev Lilly, a St. Anthony Central spokeswoman. The agency does not do background checks when issuing nursing licenses because it doesn’t have the money, staff or time to do so. The exception is when an applicant marks that he or she had a previous run-in with the law, said DORA spokesman Chris Lines. Lilly said Fischer’s application to St. Anthony Central did not list that she had ever worked at Swedish Medical Center. Fischer started work at St. Anthony Central in April 2008 and was fired June 11. The Denver District Attorney’s Office filed six counts against Fischer on Monday, charging her with obtaining a controlled substance by deceit. Police arrested her July 16, alleging she stole pain medication, including Valium, fentanyl and morphine, and injected herself with the drugs while she was working at St. Anthony Central. The hospital says it has no reports of patients being harmed. According to a record filed by Swedish Medical Center with the state health department and reviewed by 9Wants to Know, the hospital received two reports of patients not receiving their pain medications Jan. 3, 2008. Fischer was suspended the same day. The report says Swedish Medical Center conducted an internal investigation and found that the nurse would sign out two Percocet tablets and one Dilaudid tablet. According to the report, the medications were not properly administered to patients. The facility then fired the nurse.

Denver nurse accused of stealing narcotics did not disclose during hiring that she was fired from another facility for misconduct in 2008.

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The evidence presented at trial established they ran a “pill mill” through which they distributed millions of opioids and other controlled substances throughout 2015 and 2016, where they were the number one prescriber of oxycodone and methadone in Wisconsin.

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

On August 13, 2021, Lisa Hofschulz, a licensed nurse practitioner, and Robert Hofschulz, both owners and operators of Clinical Pain Consultants (“CPC”), were convicted of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and unlawful distribution of controlled substances. Lisa Hofschulz also was convicted of unlawful distribution of controlled substances resulting in death. The evidence presented at trial established Lisa and Robert Hofschulz ran CPC as a “pill mill” through which they distributed millions of opioids and other controlled substances throughout 2015 and 2016. The evidence showed that Lisa Hofschulz prescribed opioids and other dangerous controlled substances to 99% of patients, each of whom paid $200 per month for their prescriptions. The evidence also established that Lisa and Robert Hofschulz distributed controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, including by mailing prescriptions to favored patients and prescribing to customers who were not seen by a medical provider. For at least one patient, Lisa Hofschulz’s prescriptions resulted in death. During 2015 and 2016, Lisa Hofschulz was the number one prescriber of oxycodone and methadone in Wisconsin, as compared to all Medicaid providers. Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on November 2, 2021. Lisa Hofschulz faces a maximum life term of imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of 20 years of imprisonment. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service, Division of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Julie F. Stewart and Laura S. Kwaterski prosecuted the case.

Court documents allege he stole medications and then falsified records to conceal those thefts. He faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty on 8/12/21 to acquiring over 50,000 dosage units of prescription medications through fraudulent means. “Pharmacy technicians are entrusted with safeguarding and maintaining prescription medications in a responsible manner,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “This defendant did the opposite. He stole a large supply of prescription medications from a hospital that were intended for the treatment of deserving patients. As this case demonstrates, those who masquerade as health care professionals and abuse their trusted positions will be prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia.” According to court documents, Justin Feliciano Agloro, 40, a former licensed pharmacy technician at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, had the role of ensuring that the hospital’s controlled substance distribution system, a machine known as an Omnicell, was filled with the correct amounts of various controlled substances. From April 2018 to October 2019, Agloro executed a scheme by which he would steal controlled substances and falsify the Omnicell records to cover his theft. In this manner, Agloro was able to steal a variety of prescription medications, including thousands of prescription opioid pills and other medications. According to court records, the supervising pharmacist and an Omnicell technician uncovered Agloro’s fraudulent scheme when he was on personal leave from the hospital. Agloro avoided camera systems and successfully intercepted daily Omnicell reports that would have confirmed his diversion of controlled substances while on duty at the hospital. Agloro also removed reports related to cabinets from which he had diverted controlled substances and replaced them with ones from cabinets he had not accessed or from which he had not diverted controlled substances. In total, Agloro stole over 50,000 units of controlled substances. Agloro is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2021. He faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Tampa pharmacy bought nearly 30 times more hydromorphone than the average Florida pharmacy. A third of the prescriptions were written by the same person.

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A federal court in Florida ordered a Tampa-area pharmacy shut down and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. Pursuant to an agreed consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the court enjoined WeCare Pharmacy, its pharmacist owner Qingping Zhang, pharmacy technician Li Yang and a related corporate entity, L&Y Holdings LLC, from ever owning, managing or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. The order also requires the permanent closure and dissolution of WeCare Pharmacy. The consent decree resolves a civil complaint the government filed in 2021 alleging that the defendants repeatedly dispensed opioids in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The complaint alleged that over a period of several years, the defendants dispensed highly addictive and highly abused prescription opioids while ignoring “red flags” — that is, obvious indications of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior. U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven, who entered the order, previously granted the government’s request for a temporary restraining order shortly after the case was filed. “Pharmacists and those who own and operate pharmacies have a duty to ensure that controlled substances are distributed lawfully,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its partners to ensure that business owners and medical professionals handling controlled substances do not violate the Controlled Substances Act.” “Failure to comply with professional standards and protocols while dispensing controlled substances places the public at risk of harm and is a violation of the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Karin Hoppmann for the Middle District of Florida. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to enforce the law against those engaged in harmful practices, to keep our citizens safe.” “Pharmacies have an obligation to ensure controlled substances are dispensed in accordance with the law," said Acting Special Agent in Charge La Verne Hibbert of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division. “When they ignore that obligation, it contributes to the widespread misuse and abuse of prescription opioids that devastate our communities. The DEA Miami Field Division remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure the health and the safety of our communities.” The investigation was conducted by the DEA. The case was handled by Trial Attorneys Scott Dahlquist and Thomas Rosso of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Keefe for the Middle District of Florida.

Iowa nurse punctured vials of hydromorphone and refilled them with a saline solution using her fingerprint to access a dispensing machine.

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A former registered nurse has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing opioids from a hospital and using the drugs herself. Sarah Jean Moses, also known as Sarah Nalvanko, 42, of Cedar Rapids, pleaded to two charges Tuesday of a 13-count superseding indictment.

She was convicted of tampering and attempting to tamper with hydromorphone, an opioid medication, and making false statements relating to health care matters.

Moses, as a registered nurse with a Cedar Rapids hospital, diverted the opioids from Sept. 6 to Oct. 12, 2017, and used the drugs herself, according to the plea agreement. She used her own fingerprint and/or pass code to obtain the drugs from a dispensing machine.

She punctured vials of hydromorphone with needles to withdraw the drug and then refilled the vials with a saline solution to make them appear to be full, the plea stated.

In September 2017, within weeks of starting her job at the hospital — which isn’t identified in court documents and which prosecutors have declined to name — Moses obtained unauthorized access to the drug vials, the plea stated.

For example, on Sept. 26, 2017, after other employees discovered four vials had been tampered with, the pharmacy director and a technician replaced all the vials. But the next day, Moses had accessed medical records of patients that were not hers to obtain drugs ordered by doctors.

The following day, another inventory was conducted and they found the vials had been punctured to remove some of the drug and clear liquid had replaced it, according to the plea.

Hospital officials reviewed surveillance camera footage that showed Moses in the room where the vial dispensing machine was kept. She was scheduled to stay with the ambulance for her entire shift and had gone in early and not clocked in.

According to the plea, Moses on Sept. 27, 2017, also made false statements in connection with health care benefits and pharmacy records to cover up taking the drugs for her own use.

The hospital fired her Oct. 10, 2017, and reported the incident to the Iowa Board of Nursing. Reasons for termination included unsatisfactory work performance, failure to follow her nurse manager’s instructions, questionable use of accessing drug machine and “exhibiting signs that she was diverting hydromorphone.”

In Iowa Board of Nursing documents filed in April 2019, hospital officials said their investigation found Moses, on at least one occasion, was the only one to access the narcotic in question.

When her employer asked her to submit a urine sample for testing, Moses admitted to taking the narcotic not prescribed to her, according to the board documents.

The board included another incident in which Moses diverted narcotics while working at a different hospital, also not identified, from Sept. 10 through Nov. 22, 2018.

At that hospital, Moses was accused of removing medications from patients she wasn’t assigned, failing to account for those removed and failing to document pain assessments, the board stated.

In April 2019, the board indefinitely suspended Moses’ nursing license pending completion of recommended treatment.

Moses, who was issued her nursing license in 2006, voluntarily surrendered her license in May of last year, according to board documents.

She also was convicted in October 2020 in Linn County District Court for drunken driving.

In July of last year, a federal prosecutor asked the court to revoke Moses’ pretrial release because of probation violations, though a judge declined to do so.

Moses was to have additional substance abuse evaluation and increased drug testing and monitoring left up to the discretion of the U.S. Probation Office.

Moses also was indicted last July on a separate charge of theft of government funds.

She pleaded in November to falsely reporting her income to receive increased unemployment benefits from April through August of last year, according to court documents. Moses received at least $4,368 because of increased benefits during the pandemic.

No sentencing date is set on the theft charge at this time.

In the opioid case, Moses faces up to 10 years on the tampering charge and five years on the false statements. Sentencing will be set after a presentencing report is completed.