Drug Diversion Case Database: Search 730 Documented Cases

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Showing 730 of 730 cases · page 12 of 15.

Case / When	Where	Setting	Drug	Method	Role	Prosecution status	Penalty	Source
Wyoming pharmacy technician-in-training surrendered permit over controlled-substance diversion 2017-03	Wyoming	not stated	not stated	not stated	Pharmacy technician-in-training	not stated	none documented	source
Hudson Valley nurse surrendered licenses after admitting unordered medication withdrawals she could not account for 2017-03	New York	not stated	not stated	not stated	Licensed practical nurse and registered professional nurse	not stated	none documented	source
VA Hospital Pharmacy Employees Charged with Stealing and Selling Opioids 2017-02-08	Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas	VA John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital (Little Rock, AR)	Oxycodone, hydrocodone, promethazine with codeine syrup	Pharmacy tech used VA supplier web-portal access to order excess drugs, falsified invoices, redistributed to coworkers	not stated	Federal indictment unsealed Feb 8, 2017; 8 counts including conspiracy to steal and distribute	none documented	source
Minnesota pharmacist diverted hydrocodone, zolpidem and tramadol for years and altered records; license suspended indefinitely 2017-02	Minnesota	Multiple pharmacies where the licensee practiced	Hydrocodone/acetaminophen, zolpidem, tramadol	not stated	Pharmacist	not stated	none documented	source
MedStar Ambulance Paramedic Supervisor Charged with Tampering with Fentanyl and Morphine 2017-01-18	Illinois O'Fallon, Illinois	MedStar Ambulance Inc. (O'Fallon / Metro East St. Louis, IL)	Fentanyl and morphine — ambulance narcotic supply	Punctured tamper-resistant vial packaging with a needle, replaced drug with water/saline, falsified records to conceal losses	not stated	Indicted Jan 18, 2017; convicted on all 38 counts; sentenced Aug 21, 2018 to 111 months	none documented	source
Pharmaceutical distributor pays record $150 million penalty over unreported suspicious controlled-substance orders 2017-01-17	New Jersey	Distribution centers serving independent and small chain pharmacies	Controlled substances (suspicious orders)	not stated	Pharmaceutical distributor (DEA registrant)	not stated	none documented	source
Traveling nurse surrendered license after admitting to stealing fentanyl from Massachusetts hospital 2017	Massachusetts Newburyport, MA	Anna Jaques Hospital	fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphone	Stealing fentanyl, morphine and hydromorphone from the hospital; admitted to stealing 27 doses of fentanyl for patients already discharged.	not stated	Surrendered license as a traveling nurse in 2017.	none documented	source
Carlsbad Pharmacy Technician Pleads Guilty to Stealing Oxycodone 2016-12-20	New Mexico Carlsbad, New Mexico	Southwest Pharmacy (Carlsbad, NM)	Oxycodone — approximately 20,344 tablets alleged stolen over the employment period	Pharmacy technician took pills directly from stock bottles for personal use	not stated	Pleaded guilty Dec 20, 2016 to misdemeanor unlawful possession of a controlled substance	$1,000 (criminal fine)	source
New Mexico pharmacy technician pleaded guilty after oxycodone theft report from Carlsbad pharmacy 2016-12-20	New Mexico	Retail pharmacy in Carlsbad, Eddy County	Oxycodone tablets	not stated	Pharmacy technician	not stated	none documented	source
Casper physician suspended over alleged excessive painkiller prescriptions and oxycodone conspiracy 2016-12	Wyoming Casper, WY	Casper, WY	oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl, hydrocodone, phentermine, hydromorphone, tramadol, testosterone cypionate	The board found the physician prescribed high amounts of oxycodone, methadone, and fentanyl to one patient and may have conspired to acquire a scheduled drug by deception for use by someone other than that patient; prescribed controlled substances to a patient with whom he was in a relationship and may have obtained them by fraud; and increased and decreased oxycodone doses for another patient, which the board said could be careless disregard or conspiracy to acquire a narcotic by fraud.	not stated	Wyoming Board of Medicine summarily suspended the physician's license until a formal complaint and hearing; the physician was arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.	none documented	source
Illinois nursing home nurse diverted hydrocodone by falsely recording resident requests 2016-10-17	Illinois	Long-term care facility in Belleville, Illinois	Hydrocodone (Schedule II opioid)	not stated	Nurse	not stated	none documented	source
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Employee Charged with Forging Oxycodone Prescriptions 2016-10-12	District of Columbia Washington, DC	MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, D.C.	Oxycodone	Allegedly used a nurse practitioner's blank prescription pad to forge and fill oxycodone prescriptions in eight instances, obtaining about 600 pills	not stated	Indicted on eight counts of distribution and eight counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud	none documented	source
Illinois emergency room nurse diverted hydromorphone from Pekin hospital 2016-10-06	Illinois	Hospital in Pekin, Illinois	Hydromorphone (Schedule II opioid)	not stated	Emergency room nurse	not stated	none documented	source
New Jersey hospital nurse reprimanded after hydromorphone ampules found tampered with 2016-10	New Jersey	Hospital (community medical center)	Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
DC hospital administrative assistant indicted over forged prescriptions for 600 oxycodone pills 2016-10	District of Columbia	University hospital in Washington, DC	Oxycodone (about 600 pills alleged)	not stated	Administrative assistant (former hospital employee)	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse's license revoked over medication misappropriation and unauthorized drug possession grounds 2016-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse's license revoked over unauthorized drug possession and misappropriation grounds 2016-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse's license revoked over unauthorized drug handling and falsified records grounds 2016-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
New Mexico pharmacy technician charged federally after 20,000-plus oxycodone tablets reported stolen 2016-09-23	New Mexico	Retail pharmacy, Carlsbad, New Mexico	Oxycodone tablets of various strengths; pharmacy reported 20,344 tablets stolen	not stated	Pharmacy technician (former employee of the pharmacy)	not stated	none documented	source
Tufts Medical Center Pays $100,000 to Settle Controlled Substances Recordkeeping Violations 2016-09-20	Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts	Tufts Medical Center (Boston, MA)	Controlled substances generally — losses tied to three former nurses	Inaccurate inventories/records, uncontrolled prescription pads, untimely DEA theft/loss reporting	not stated	Civil settlement, $100,000 — announced Sep 20, 2016; 3 years of warrantless DEA inspections	$100,000 (civil settlement)	source
Registered nurse admitted diverting controlled dangerous substances while working in an Oregon regional corrections system 2016-09	New Jersey Wasco County, Oregon	Northern Oregon Regional Corrections system	controlled dangerous substances	admitted diverting controlled dangerous substances while working as a nurse in the corrections system; separately convicted in Oregon of Supplying Contraband, Theft and a controlled substance offense, and voluntarily surrendered the Oregon nursing license	not stated	reprimanded for violating N.J.S.A. 45:1-21(f); petition to reactivate the New Jersey registered nurse license granted, conditioned on continued participation in and compliance with the board's Recovery and Monitoring Program	none documented	source
Northern Maine Medical Center Pays $125,000 to Settle Controlled Substances Act Allegations 2016-08-29	Maine Fort Kent, Maine	Northern Maine Medical Center / Forest Hill long-term care unit (Fort Kent, ME)	Schedule II-V controlled substances — destruction and disposal recordkeeping	Failed to document destruction method/manner; distributed controlled substances at an unregistered location	not stated	Civil settlement, $125,000 — announced Aug 29, 2016	$125,000 (civil settlement)	source
Cleveland-area diet clinic pill mill indicted for trafficking phentermine and scheduled stimulants 2016-08	Ohio Cleveland, OH	Diet Med Clinics in Mayfield Heights, Fairview Park, and Mentor	phentermine and scheduled stimulants	indicted for running a pill mill that illegally sold more than a million doses of weight loss medication; a physician allegedly used credentials to purchase large quantities of scheduled stimulants while having little or no patient contact as hundreds of thousands of doses were dispensed directly from the clinics	not stated	charged in a 227-count indictment with Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, Drug Trafficking, and Money Laundering; arraignment scheduled for September 1	none documented	source
New Haven man pleaded guilty in fraudulent oxycodone prescription ring that used runners at Connecticut pharmacies 2016-06-16	Connecticut	Pharmacies throughout Connecticut	Oxycodone	not stated	Member of a drug trafficking organization (not a licensed provider)	not stated	none documented	source
New Haven oxycodone ring used forged prescriptions and stolen prescriber identities 2016-06-16	Connecticut	Pharmacies throughout Connecticut	Oxycodone	not stated	Member of a drug trafficking organization	not stated	none documented	source
Advanced practice nurse diverted phentermine through unauthorized prescriptions at Seacrest Village 2016-05	New Jersey Little Egg Harbor, NJ	Seacrest Village	phentermine (Schedule IV controlled substance)	The Board found the nurse called in multiple phentermine prescriptions under a collaborating physician's name and DEA number without authorization; she admitted writing phentermine prescriptions for facility staff and herself using the physician's pre-signed prescriptions.	not stated	Registered nurse license and advanced practice nurse certificate suspended for a minimum of three years effective 30 days after filing of the Final Order of Discipline; $5000 civil penalty.	none documented	source
Emergency room nurse suspended indefinitely for diverting controlled substances from an automated medication administration machine 2016-04	Georgia	emergency room of a hospital	controlled substances	repeatedly withdrew controlled substances from an automated medication administration machine and failed to document that they were administered to patients; a drug screen showed three controlled substances in the nurse's system	not stated	suspended until able to demonstrate twelve months of continued sobriety and thereafter placed on probation; the Georgia Board of Nursing's proposed sanction was upheld	none documented	source
Hospital emergency room nurse diverted controlled substances from an automated medication administration machine 2016-04	Georgia	a hospital emergency room	controlled substances	repeatedly withdrew controlled substances from an automated medication administration machine and failed to document that they were administered to patients; a drug screen indicated three controlled substances in the nurse's system	not stated	suspended indefinitely; required to demonstrate twelve months of continued sobriety and thereafter placed on probation	none documented	source
Nurse diverted hydromorphone from an automated dispensing cabinet system at place of employment 2016-04	Mississippi	The nurse's place of employment in Mississippi (specific facility not named in the board summary)	hydromorphone	diverted hydromorphone from an automated dispensing cabinet system at the nurse's place of employment; misappropriated drugs, supplies or equipment	not stated	Revocation of nursing license	none documented	source
Nevada nursing board found a licensed practical nurse withdrew morphine from patient dispensers at a rural hospital without documenting it 2016-03	Nevada Caliente, NV	a rural hospital and nursing home in Caliente, Nevada	morphine	withdrew morphine from the medication dispensers of two patients without documenting what happened to the controlled substance	not stated	license stripped; barred from reapplying for five years	none documented	source
Emory Hospital Pharmacy Technicians Diverted More Than 1 Million Doses of Controlled Substances 2016-02-01	Georgia Atlanta, GA	Hospital pharmacy (Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, GA)	Alprazolam, hydrocodone, and codeine products	Pharmacy technicians misappropriated buyer credentials to order and receive controlled substances, bypassing receiving and inventory checks	not stated	Georgia Board of Pharmacy consent order finalized February 2016; $200,000 fine and 3-year pharmacy license probation	$200,000 (civil penalty)	source
University hospital employees fired for diverting controlled substances including alprazolam and hydrocodone 2016-02	Georgia	Emory University hospital	alprazolam (Xanax), codeine, hydrocodone	Two hospital employees illegally diverted more than a million doses of controlled substances in a scheme that lasted nearly five years.	not stated	The employees were fired; a consent order fined the hospital $200,000 and placed its pharmacy license on probation for three years; the matter was reported to the DEA.	none documented	source
Wayne County LPN Sentenced to Jail for Diverting Oxycodone from Nursing Home Patients 2016-01-06	New York Newark, NY	Nursing home (DeMay Living Center, Newark, NY)	Oxycodone and other narcotic pills	Falsified medication administration records for 14 residents while diverting the pills for personal use	not stated	Pleaded guilty June 2015; sentenced to 99 days in jail January 6, 2016 after violating plea conditions	none documented	source
Worcester Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Oxycodone from Nursing Home Patients 2015-11-05	Massachusetts Worcester, Massachusetts	Nursing care facility (Worcester, MA)	Oxycodone tablets, three patients	Stole prescribed tablets, substituted look-alike antihistamine/antidepressant pills	not stated	Pleaded guilty Nov 5, 2015; faced up to 4 years in prison	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse placed on 24-month restricted license over misappropriation ground 2015-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi licensed practical nurse's license revoked over misappropriation ground 2015-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Licensed practical nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse voluntarily surrendered license amid record falsification and misappropriation grounds 2015-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse voluntarily surrendered license amid self-administration of drugs ground 2015-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Mississippi registered nurse voluntarily surrendered license amid misappropriation and record-entry grounds 2015-10	Mississippi	not stated	not stated	not stated	Registered nurse	not stated	none documented	source
Massachusetts General Hospital Pays $2.3M in Drug Diversion Settlement 2015-09-28	Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts	Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA)	Oxycodone and other pills — ~16,000 stolen by two nurses; 20,000+ records discrepancy	Inadequate monitoring and access controls on automated dispensing machines; incomplete recordkeeping	not stated	Civil settlement, $2.3 million — announced Sep 28, 2015	$2,300,000 (civil settlement)	source
Madison hospital nurse stole fentanyl vials 2015-08-19	Wisconsin Madison, WI	a Madison hospital	fentanyl	stole vials of fentanyl from a hospital; said she had wanted help before being caught diverting	not stated	nursing license fully reinstated	none documented	source
Southern Tier LPN Pleads Guilty to Diverting Percocet from Nursing Home Patients 2015-08-12	New York Horseheads, NY	Nursing home (Elcor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Horseheads, NY)	Percocet (oxycodone-acetaminophen)	Falsified records indicating narcotics were administered to eight residents while diverting the pills for personal use	not stated	Pleaded guilty August 12, 2015 to falsifying business records, petit larceny, and criminal possession of a controlled substance	none documented	source
Dallas pharmacy dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescriptions; agreed order 2015-08	Texas Dallas, TX	a Dallas pharmacy	controlled substances	dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescription orders	not stated	Agreed Board Order accepted and entered; license placed on 2-year probation with conditions and fined $2500	none documented	source
Pharmacist-in-charge at a Dallas pharmacy dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescriptions; agreed order 2015-08	Texas Dallas, TX	a Dallas pharmacy	controlled substances	as pharmacist-in-charge dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescription orders	not stated	Agreed Board Order accepted and entered; license placed on 2-year probation with conditions and fined $2500	none documented	source
Houston pharmacy dispensed controlled substances and dangerous drugs pursuant to invalid prescriptions; agreed order 2015-08	Texas Houston, TX	a Houston pharmacy	controlled substances and dangerous drugs	dispensed controlled substances and dangerous drugs pursuant to invalid prescription orders	not stated	Agreed Board Order accepted and entered; license placed on 2-year probation with conditions, fined $5000, and must develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure therapeutic dispensing of prescription drugs	none documented	source
Pharmacist-in-charge and corporate president at a Cleveland pharmacy dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescriptions; agreed order 2015-08	Texas Cleveland, TX	Tristar-Cleveland	controlled substances	as pharmacist-in-charge and corporate president dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescription orders	not stated	Agreed Board Order accepted and entered; license placed on 3-year probation with conditions, fined $7500, and must pass pharmacy law exam	none documented	source
Cleveland pharmacy dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescriptions; agreed order 2015-08	Texas Cleveland, TX	Tristar-Cleveland	controlled substances	dispensed controlled substances pursuant to invalid prescription orders	not stated	Agreed Board Order accepted and entered; license placed on 3-year probation with conditions and fined $7500	none documented	source
Nurse at a medical center in Caliente investigated for unaccounted morphine; license revoked 2015-08	Nevada Caliente, NV	a medical center in Caliente, Nevada	morphine	investigated for two 2015 incidents involving unaccounted morphine; investigation indicated obtaining morphine syringes for patients but failing to document whether the drug was administered	not stated	Nevada State Board of Nursing revoked the nursing license for five years for unprofessional conduct	none documented	source
Pharmacy technician diverted over 216,000 Norco tablets from a retail pharmacy while the pharmacist-in-charge failed to detect the theft 2015-08	California West Hills, CA	retail pharmacy (Target)	Norco (hydrocodone/acetaminophen)	A pharmacy technician diverted the drug over a roughly two-year period by repeatedly ordering large quantities to be delivered on days she worked, intercepting and hiding the bottles in the storeroom, destroying the packing invoices, and removing the drugs to her car while the on-duty pharmacist was on break. The pharmacist-in-charge failed to review delivery invoices, restrict access to the phone-ordering passcode, or conduct random audits that could have detected the diversion sooner.	not stated	The California State Board of Pharmacy found grounds for discipline after a hearing and revoked the pharmacist-in-charge's license but stayed the revocation, placing the license on three years' probation with conditions; a petition for writ of administrative mandate challenging the discipline was denied, and the Court of Appeal affirmed.	none documented	source
Minnesota Paramedic Stole Ambulance Morphine, Replaced It with Saline 2015-07-16	Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota	Allina Health ambulance service (Minneapolis, MN)	Morphine and hydromorphone — ambulance patient supply	Withdrew drug with syringe from ambulance stock, refilled vials with saline	not stated	Pleaded guilty; sentenced Jul 16, 2015 to 3 years probation	none documented	source

Every filtered view has its own URL, so it can be linked or bookmarked. The same filters work on the JSON feed: /api/cases.json.

What each column does and doesn't cover

Every case states When (date) and Where (state) — 730 of 730. Beyond that, a blank cell means the source record does not state that fact, not that it did not happen:

Setting: stated in 649 of 730 cases (89%)
Drug: stated in 657 of 730 cases (90%)
Method: stated in 474 of 730 cases (65%)
Prosecution status: stated in 474 of 730 cases (65%); a documented penalty (fine, settlement, or restitution) exists for 77 of 730 cases (11%)
Role: stated in only 255 of 730 cases (35%) — filtering or sorting by role silently hides the rest of the registry, which may still describe the same role in prose without a structured field

Why: documented failure modes

A separate text analysis of the 723 case summaries found 371 cases (51.3%) matching at least one named failure-mode pattern below. 352 cases (48.7% of 723) matched none of these categories - most of these are short board-order summaries ("licensee diverted controlled substances from their employer") that state an outcome without describing a mechanism, not cases where no failure occurred. A case can match zero, one, or several categories — these are corpus-level counts, not a per-case tag, and are not used as a row filter above: reproducing the exact category membership per case from the stored patterns did not exactly match this file's hand-curated counts on independent re-check, so no individual case here is labeled with a "why" that this code cannot verify.

Drug swapped for a substitute and the container returned to circulation 137 of 723

Text names an act of replacing/refilling the drug with a named substitute (saline, water, an OTC pill, a cleaning product, etc.), OR uses swap/dilute/tamper to describe the same act, so the altered container went back into use looking unchanged.

Outright theft or embezzlement of stock (no substitution described) 120 of 723

Text uses stole/stealing/embezzled to describe removal of controlled substances.

Records, charts, orders, inventories, or receipts falsified to conceal the diversion 58 of 723

Text uses a form of "falsif-" within 60 characters of a record-type noun (chart, inventory, transaction, receipt, prescription, etc.).

Prescriptions fraudulent, forged, invalid, or written outside legitimate medical practice 53 of 723

Text explicitly characterizes the prescription(s) as fraudulent, forged, invalid, or issued outside legitimate medical practice (including "pill mill" language).

Automated dispensing cabinet used as the point of exploitation 30 of 723

Text names an automated dispensing cabinet/machine, or the acronym ADC, as part of the mechanism.

Waste/wastage claim used to cover the diversion, or wastage not witnessed 38 of 723

Text describes recording or claiming drug as "waste" (when it was not), pulling drug from a waste stream, or wastage that was not independently witnessed.

Cancelled, voided, or falsely entered dispensing-system transactions to hide the removal 11 of 723

Text describes cancelling, voiding, or falsely entering a system transaction (an order, a return-to-stock entry, a cancel entry) specifically to conceal a removal.

Facility-level failure to maintain accurate inventory or required records (not one employee concealing a theft) 24 of 723

Text states the FACILITY (not an individual concealing personal use) failed to maintain required inventory/records, or names a recordkeeping violation/negligent recordkeeping as the basis for the government action.

Drug obtained using a false identity, a fictitious patient, or impersonation 11 of 723

Text describes using a fictitious patient profile, a false name/identity, stolen patient information, or impersonating a licensed prescriber to obtain the drug.

Known or suspected loss/theft/diversion not reported to DEA or a licensing board 10 of 723

Text states a failure to notify or report a loss, theft, or suspected diversion to a regulator.

Disclaimer

Case summaries are based on public records (DOJ press releases, court documents, news reports). Charges are allegations unless a conviction is noted. Analysis is educational, not legal advice.

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Last reviewed: September 2026 · Content is educational, not legal advice.

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