Case Database
Filter every documented case by date, drug, state, setting, role, prosecution status, and penalty. Search accepts brand or generic drug names, facility names, and cities.
Showing 730 of 730 cases · page 4 of 15.
| Case / When | Where | Setting | Drug | Method | Role | Prosecution status | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Registered nurse admitted obtaining and consuming oxycodone without a prescription and had controlled-substance administration and documentation errors involving two patients; voluntarily surrendered license
2025-03
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Oregon | Practice | oxycodone, opioids | Admitted obtaining and consuming oxycodone without a prescription; employer reported controlled-substance administration and documentation errors for two patients, and the licensee could not account for what medications were administered or why documentation was made; also admitted administering medication to a patient without a provider order and later admitted obtaining and consuming two oxycodone pills. | not stated | Voluntary surrender of registered nurse license accepted; may apply for reinstatement after a minimum of three years. | none documented | source |
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Nursing home nurse accused of stealing Tramadol and oxycodone/acetaminophen from residents
2025-03
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South Carolina Myrtle Beach, SC |
Angel Oak Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | Tramadol and oxycodone/acetaminophen | Allegedly stole pain medication from residents, taking Tramadol from two patients and oxycodone/acetaminophen from a patient, for personal use | not stated | Charged with two counts of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and two counts of theft of a controlled substance; booked into jail and released on bond; prosecution by the state Attorney General's Office | none documented | source |
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ICU Nurse Arrested for Stealing 17 Fentanyl IV Bags at Brandon Hospital
2025-02-24
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Florida Brandon, Florida |
ICU, hospital in Lithia/Brandon area (Hillsborough County, FL) | Injectable fentanyl — six tampering incidents, Oct-Dec 2023 | Removed fentanyl from a secure drawer, tampered with it, swapped tampered containers back into circulation, falsified hospital records to hide the removal | not stated | Pleaded guilty to 6 counts tampering with a consumer product + 6 counts acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation; sentencing not yet set | none documented | source |
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Pharmacy technician diverted controlled substance from pharmacy (agreed board order)
2025-02
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Texas | pharmacy | controlled substance | diversion | not stated | Voluntary revocation | none documented | source |
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Pharmacy technician diverted controlled substance from pharmacy (default board order)
2025-02
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Texas | pharmacy | controlled substance | diversion | not stated | Revocation | none documented | source |
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Pharmacy technician took controlled substances from pharmacy (default board order)
2025-02
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Texas | pharmacy | controlled substances | took | not stated | Revocation | none documented | source |
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Birmingham-area nursing home nurse diverted hydrocodone tablets; pleaded guilty to theft
2025-02
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Alabama Birmingham, AL |
a Birmingham-area nursing home | hydrocodone | The nurse, responsible for distributing medication to residents, stole opioid tablets from the nursing home. A nurse discovered missing hydrocodone in July 2024, and an investigation found discrepancies involving over 100 hydrocodone tablets over approximately two months. The nurse was terminated by the facility after the missing hydrocodone was discovered. | not stated | Pled guilty to Theft of Property in the Second Degree, a Class C felony; received a 15-month suspended sentence. | none documented | source |
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Nevada advanced practice nurse placed on probation for drug diversion and regulatory violations
2025-02
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Nevada | not stated | not stated | not stated | Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) | not stated | none documented | source |
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Nevada advanced practice nurse placed on probation for drug diversion and improper delegation
2025-02
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Nevada | not stated | not stated | not stated | Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) | not stated | none documented | source |
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Nevada registered nurse reprimanded and ordered to continuing education for drug diversion
2025-02
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Nevada | not stated | not stated | not stated | Registered nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Nevada advanced practice nurse placed on probation for drug diversion and falsified records
2025-02
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Nevada | not stated | not stated | not stated | Advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) | not stated | none documented | source |
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Elkin pharmacy ordered to pay $500,000 penalty and enjoined from filling red-flag opioid prescriptions
2025-02
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North Carolina | Independent pharmacy in Elkin | Prescription opioids and combination prescriptions | not stated | Pharmacy owner and four pharmacists | not stated | none documented | source |
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Trenton Pharmacy Owner Convicted of Diverting Millions of Oxycodone Pills
2025-01-22
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New Jersey Trenton, New Jersey |
Independent retail pharmacy, Trenton, NJ | Oxycodone (Schedule II) | Filled fraudulent prescriptions outside the usual course of practice and falsified pharmacy records to conceal the diversion of millions of pills | not stated | Convicted by federal jury Jan. 22, 2025 on conspiracy and drug-involved-premises charges; sentencing pending | none documented | source |
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Michigan Pharmacist Surrenders License Over Grand Blanc Drug Diversion
2025-01-18
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Michigan Grand Blanc, Michigan |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Pharmacist | not stated | none documented | source |
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Michigan Pharmacy Technician Fined and Probated Over Taylor Drug Diversion
2025-01-18
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Michigan Taylor, Michigan |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Pharmacy technician | not stated | none documented | source |
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Registered nurse removed propofol from workplace for personal use
2025-01
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Oregon | workplace/facility | propofol; narcotic medication | removed narcotic medication from her place of employment for personal use; pharmacy audit records showed multiple bottles of propofol were prematurely replaced; documentation audit showed several unaccounted propofol bottles; acknowledged removing medication from the facility for personal use to address sleeping issues | not stated | Stipulated Order for Probation; license placed on probation; prohibited from access to narcotics or controlled substances without written approval | none documented | source |
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Registered nurse alleged to have diverted IV Dilaudid from a worksite an automated dispensing cabinet by logging it out and pocketing it
2025-01
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Oregon | worksite with an automated dispensing cabinet system | IV Dilaudid | Alleged diversion of IV Dilaudid: logged out IV Dilaudid but did not administer it for more than an hour; logged out IV Dilaudid but did not waste it for more than an hour; logged out IV Dilaudid and put it in a pocket; documented administering IV Dilaudid when it was not administered; administered IV Dilaudid but did not document it for approximately two days; failed to document a pain assessment; carried medications in pockets and failed to waste controlled substances at the time of removal from an automated dispensing cabinet. | not stated | RN license placed on probation for 24 months within 36 months, with monitored practice and education conditions. | none documented | source |
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Osage Beach Nurse Anesthetist Diverted Fentanyl from Hospital Operating Rooms
2024-12-16
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Missouri Osage Beach, Missouri |
Lake Regional Hospital operating rooms, Osage Beach, Missouri | Fentanyl and hydromorphone | Scanned vials to generate labels affixed to saline-filled syringes, pulled extra vials during procedures, and falsified patient charts | not stated | Pleaded guilty Dec. 16, 2024, to obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation; faces up to 4 years in prison | none documented | source |
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Travel Nurse Diverted Hydromorphone Using Patients' Health Information
2024-12-11
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West Virginia Beckley, West Virginia |
Raleigh General Hospital, Beckley, West Virginia | Hydromorphone | Used personal biometrics to access dispensing cabinets, siphoned and diluted vial contents, resealed vials, then canceled the transaction | not stated | Pleaded guilty Dec. 11, 2024, to fraud and wrongful disclosure of health information; sentencing set for April 2025. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a third charge of attempting to tamper with a consumer product; maximum penalty was 14 years in prison. | none documented | source |
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Yale New Haven Hospital Nurse Tampered with Lorazepam Vials
2024-12-11
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Connecticut New Haven, Connecticut |
Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut | Lorazepam | Removed a portion of drug solution from vials in secure storage, replaced it with an inert solution, and returned vials to circulation | not stated | Pleaded guilty Dec. 11, 2024, to tampering with a consumer product and acquiring a controlled substance by fraud; nursing license suspended | none documented | source |
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Michigan Registered Nurse Fined and Probated Over Alpena Drug Diversion
2024-12-07
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Michigan Alpena, Michigan |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Registered nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Michigan Registered Nurse Fined and Probated Over Allendale Drug Diversion
2024-12-07
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Michigan Allendale, Michigan |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Registered nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Physician diverted Demerol from patients for personal use
2024-12
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Texas Dallas, TX |
Dallas, TX | Demerol | diverted Demerol from patients for himself; tested positive for Demerol | not stated | voluntary surrender of Texas medical license in lieu of further disciplinary proceedings | none documented | source |
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California pharmacist sentenced to more than seven years for dispensing over 450,000 opioid pills on fraudulent prescriptions
2024-11-25
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California | Independent retail pharmacy, Madera | Oxycodone and hydrocodone; more than 450,000 pills | not stated | Pharmacist and pharmacy owner | not stated | none documented | source |
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Mid-Valley Hospital Pays $15,000 Penalty Over Nurse's Hydromorphone Theft
2024-11-15
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Washington Omak, Washington |
Mid-Valley Hospital and Clinic, Omak, Washington | Hydromorphone (Dilaudid) | Kept leftover doses instead of wasting them and used dispensing-system overrides to withdraw extra doses while override reports went unreviewed | not stated | Hospital paid $15,000 CSA civil penalty Nov. 2024; nurse entered separate state and federal diversion agreements | $15,000 (civil penalty) | source |
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Vermont revokes compact-licensed physician after Kentucky revocation tied to federal controlled-substance indictment
2024-11-06
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Vermont | not stated | Controlled substances (unspecified) | not stated | Physician (Interstate Medical Licensure Compact licensee) | not stated | none documented | source |
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Macomb County Physician and Pharmacy Owner Pay $700,948 Over Opioid Prescribing and Filling Scheme
2024-11-04
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Michigan Clinton Township, Michigan |
Medical practice and an on-site pharmacy (Heartland Drugs) sharing an office complex in Clinton Township, Michigan | Opioid and ADHD (stimulant) medications | Physician prescribed medically unnecessary opioid and ADHD medications, which the co-located pharmacy filled without adequate scrutiny | not stated | Physician, his practice, and the pharmacy owner paid $700,948.42 to settle False Claims Act allegations, November 2024; physician surrendered his DEA registration | $700,948 (civil settlement) | source |
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Pharmacist admitted to taking controlled substances without authorization from the pharmacy for personal use
2024-11
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Texas | Pharmacy | controlled substances | Admitted to taking controlled substances without authorization from the pharmacy for personal use (2 counts); felony theft of a controlled substance (deferred). | not stated | 120 day suspension + 5 year rehabilitation probation | none documented | source |
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Former Kalispell assisted living employee admitted diverting pain medication
2024-11
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Montana | Assisted living facility, Kalispell | Pain medication | not stated | Assisted living facility employee (former) | not stated | none documented | source |
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Louisiana Pharmacy Technician Suspended for Diverting Controlled Substances
2024-11
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Louisiana Louisiana |
not stated | Controlled substances (not specified in the board record) | Diverted controlled substances from her employer pharmacy | Pharmacy technician (license PTC.032818) | Louisiana Board of Pharmacy suspended her credential indefinitely, Nov 2024 — $5,000 fine plus hearing, administrative, and investigative costs | none documented | source |
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Louisiana Pharmacy Technician Suspended in Second Diversion Case Same Term
2024-11
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Louisiana Louisiana |
not stated | Controlled substances (not specified in the board record) | Diverted controlled substances from her employer pharmacy | Pharmacy technician (license PTC.032513) | Louisiana Board of Pharmacy suspended her credential indefinitely, Nov 2024 — $1,000 fine plus hearing, administrative, and investigative costs | none documented | source |
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Berlin pain practice, physician and physician assistant settled claims over prescribing after inconsistent drug tests
2024-10-23
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Connecticut | Pain management practice in Berlin | Oxycodone and fentanyl | not stated | Physician, physician assistant and their practice | not stated | none documented | source |
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Concord Hospital Nurse Diverted Fentanyl from ICU Patient's IV Line
2024-10-07
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New Hampshire Concord, New Hampshire |
Concord Hospital intensive care unit, Concord, New Hampshire | Fentanyl | Removed fentanyl from an IV bag of a patient not assigned to her care and replaced it with saline | not stated | Pleaded guilty Oct. 7, 2024, to tampering with consumer products; sentencing set for January 2025 | none documented | source |
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WakeMed nurse charged with stealing fentanyl from IV bag
2024-10
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North Carolina Raleigh, NC |
WakeMed | fentanyl | Allegedly had access to the drug through the job and stole 2,500 mL of fentanyl from an IV bag on Oct. 19. | not stated | Charged with two felony counts: embezzling/diverting a controlled substance by registrant/employee and obtaining possession of a controlled substance by fraud/forgery; arrested Oct. 30; out on bond; next court date Nov. 19; no longer employed by WakeMed. | none documented | source |
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Pharmacy assistant charged after allegedly attempting to deliver a controlled substance against pharmacy policy
2024-10
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Washington Snohomish County, Washington |
a pharmacy | a controlled substance (unspecified) | Allegedly attempted to deliver a controlled substance in violation of pharmacy policy, resulting in termination from employment; has not responded to the state's investigation | not stated | Charged with unprofessional conduct by the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission | none documented | source |
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Jackson, Kentucky Clinic Physician Pays $450,000 Over Invalid Prescriptions and Lab Kickbacks
2024-09-27
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Kentucky Jackson, Kentucky |
St. John Neumann's Extended Hours Clinic, a private medical practice in Jackson, Kentucky | Schedule II controlled substances issued via pre-signed prescription pads | Physician pre-signed 94 blank controlled-substance prescriptions so unauthorized staff could complete and issue them to patients he had not evaluated, including while he was out of the country | not stated | Physician and office manager paid $450,000 civil settlement, September 2024; physician agreed to a 15-year exclusion from federal health programs and surrendered his DEA registration | $450,000 (civil settlement) | source |
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25 Charged in Puerto Rico Retail Pharmacy Prescription Drug Diversion Ring
2024-09-19
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Puerto Rico Bayamón, Aibonito, and Canóvanas, Puerto Rico |
not stated | Misbranded and diverted prescription drugs sold in unlabeled resealable bags | Bought diverted prescription drugs from unlicensed wholesale distributors and resold them to unsuspecting retail customers, billing health plans as though the product were authentic | Pharmacy owners, a pharmacist, and a pharmacy technician across five Puerto Rico retail pharmacies | 25 defendants indicted Sep 19, 2024 in the District of Puerto Rico; scheme generated more than $13 million since 2018 | none documented | source |
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Dedham Rehabilitation Center Nurse Tampered with Oxycodone Syringes
2024-09-17
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Massachusetts Dedham, Massachusetts |
Rehabilitation center for long-term chronic and post-acute care, Dedham, Massachusetts | Liquid oxycodone | Removed oxycodone from patient syringes, consumed it, and refilled syringes with water or saline before returning them to medication carts | not stated | Sentenced Sept. 2024 to three years of probation after pleading guilty to tampering with a consumer product | none documented | source |
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VA Nurse Diverted Narcotics from Dying Veterans at West Haven VA
2024-09-12
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Connecticut West Haven, Connecticut |
RN, West Haven VA Medical Center ICU (West Haven, CT) | Fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxycodone | Ingested "waste" portions of patients' narcotics, including repeatedly dosing a braindead patient with fentanyl to divert the excess; falsified VA records to show narcotics as properly administered or disposed of | not stated | Pleaded guilty Jun 18, 2024 to obtaining controlled substances by fraud/subterfuge; sentenced to 2 years probation, first 6 months in home confinement | none documented | source |
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Savannah-Area Weight-Loss Clinic Physician Pays $100,000 Over Controlled-Substance Recordkeeping Failures
2024-09-11
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Georgia Savannah, Georgia |
Scale Solutions weight-loss clinics, Savannah area, Georgia | Phentermine and phendimetrazine | Physician failed to maintain required inventory and dispensing records for controlled substances and repeatedly moved them from DEA-registered offices to his home | not stated | Physician paid $100,000 civil penalty and accepted two years of increased DEA oversight, September 2024 | $100,000 (civil penalty) | source |
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Hawaii nurse alleged to have swapped a patient's Adderall tablets for Seroquel
2024-09-09
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Hawaii | Treatment center employer operating as Nova Luna Center and ʻAi Pono Hawaii | Adderall (four tablets allegedly taken from a patient's pill packet and replaced with four Seroquel tablets) | not stated | Licensed nurse (charged under Hawaii nursing statute HRS 457 and nursing rules HAR 16-89) | not stated | none documented | source |
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Former nurse accused of replacing fentanyl with tap water in IV drips at Oregon hospital
2024-09
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Oregon Medford, OR |
Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center | fentanyl | accused of replacing prescribed fentanyl with nonsterile tap water in intravenous drips; police investigation into theft and misuse of controlled substances that resulted in patient infections; hospital officials believed an employee had been diverting fentanyl | not stated | civil wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuit filed against the hospital; the former nurse was arrested in June and charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault and has pleaded not guilty | none documented | source |
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Pharmacy technician charged with diverting controlled substances on multiple occasions
2024-09
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Washington Cowlitz County, Washington |
Pharmacy | controlled substances | Charges state the technician admitted to diverting controlled substances on multiple occasions while employed as a pharmacy technician in 2023. | not stated | Charged with unprofessional conduct by the Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission | none documented | source |
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Home care aide accused of failing to administer and account for residents' narcotic medications
2024-09
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Washington | Washington state (residential care setting; employer not named in the release) | narcotic medications | Allegedly failed to document and potentially failed to administer required narcotic medications to multiple residents in her care, and failed to complete required narcotic counts | not stated | Charged with unprofessional conduct by the Home Care Aide Program | none documented | source |
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Gate City Pharmacist Tampered with Oxycodone and Hydromorphone Tablets
2024-08-26
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Virginia Gate City, Virginia |
Retail pharmacy, Gate City, Virginia | Oxycodone and hydromorphone | Swapped tablets for look-alike non-controlled drugs and shorted patients' pill counts, keeping the difference | not stated | Pleaded guilty June 2024 to tampering with consumer products; sentenced to 24 months in federal prison | none documented | source |
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Tennessee Board of Nursing accepts surrender of practical nurse over Gallatin diversion
2024-08
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Tennessee Gallatin, Tennessee |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Practical nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Tennessee Board of Nursing suspends registered nurse over Riceville diversion
2024-08
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Tennessee Riceville, Tennessee |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Registered nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Tennessee Board of Nursing accepts surrender of advanced practice nurse over Hendersonville diversion
2024-08
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Tennessee Hendersonville, Tennessee |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Advanced practice nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Tennessee Board of Nursing suspends registered nurse over Memphis diversion
2024-08
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Tennessee Memphis, Tennessee |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Registered nurse | not stated | none documented | source |
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Tennessee Board of Pharmacy accepts surrender of pharmacy technician over Knoxville diversion
2024-08
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Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee |
not stated | not stated | not stated | Pharmacy technician | not stated | 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.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Content is educational, not legal advice.