Drug Diversion Case Database: Search 730 Documented Cases

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Showing 43 of 730 cases.

State: Maryland Clear all

Case / When	Where	Setting	Drug	Method	Role	Prosecution status	Penalty	Source
Pediatric intensive care nurse sentenced after guilty plea to obtaining morphine by fraud 2026-09	Maryland Baltimore, MD	University of Maryland Medical Center Pediatric Intensive Care Unit	morphine	diverted morphine from a pediatric intensive care unit; documented an 8:30 a.m. intravenous morphine dose for a patient but did not document a later dose she told another nurse she had given; pleaded guilty to obtaining morphine by fraud	not stated	Sentenced to 1 year, suspending all but 30 days, with two years of supervised probation; prohibited from caring for children during probation; excluded from state and federal healthcare programs. Pleaded guilty June 20, 2026; sentenced Sept. 9, 2026 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.	none documented	source
Pharmacy technician diverted alprazolam, zolpidem and other controlled substances from a national pharmacy chain in Easton, Maryland, by taking pills from bottles 2025-12	Maryland Easton, MD	a national pharmacy chain, at two stores in Easton, Maryland	Alprazolam (Xanax), zolpidem (Ambien), carisoprodol (Soma), diazepam, eszopiclone (Lunesta), and clonazepam	Stole controlled substances from the pharmacy's stores by taking them from pill bottles; was seen consuming alprazolam tablets and placing additional tablets in a lab coat pocket; admitted stealing multiple controlled substances.	not stated	Final order of revocation of pharmacy technician registration; registration revoked.	none documented	source
Pharmacist diverted phentermine and other prescription drugs using fictitious patient profiles at a Wicomico County pharmacy 2025-12	Maryland Wicomico County, MD	a pharmacy in Wicomico County, Maryland	phentermine (Schedule IV CDS), cyclobenzaprine, tizanidine, and gabapentin	Created a fictitious patient profile and used it to fill and purchase prescriptions for herself; recorded prescriptions as transmitted via telephone by a physician assistant; purchased with cash; used her driver's license to complete a purchase; diverted multiple prescription drugs and/or CDS.	not stated	Consent Order: summary suspension lifted; license suspended effective April 8, 2025, for at least one year; $1,000 fine; substance use evaluation; possible rehabilitation contract; may petition to modify after six months and lift after one year; criminal case: agreement statement of facts to one count of obtaining a prescription drug by fraud, probation before judgment, one year unsupervised probation.	none documented	source
Hospital lead pharmacy technician diverted Oxycodone by substituting Fludrocortisone during prepackaging for automated dispensing system 2025-11	Maryland	a hospital in Prince George's County, Maryland	Oxycodone	Switched Oxycodone 5 mg tablets with Fludrocortisone 0.1 mg tablets during prepackaging to refill an automated medication dispensing system and entered zero-count refills to conceal the swap; admitted to personally ingesting the Oxycodone.	not stated	Registration revoked.	none documented	source
Pharmacist diverted phentermine and other prescription drugs from a pharmacy using fictitious patient profiles 2025-04	Maryland Wicomico County, MD	a pharmacy in Wicomico County, Maryland	phentermine (Schedule IV controlled substance), cyclobenzaprine, tizanidine, gabapentin, and ibuprofen	Created fictitious patient profiles and used them to fill and purchase prescriptions for herself, including phentermine, a Schedule IV controlled substance; a physician's assistant called in fake prescriptions; purchases were made with cash; the pharmacist admitted the conduct. She initially denied the conduct but admitted it after being confronted with records tying her driver's license to the purchases.	not stated	Pharmacist license summarily suspended; ordered to return registrations and licenses; post-deprivation show-cause hearing available.	none documented	source
Pharmacist-in-charge convicted of conspiring to dispense oxycodone through a co-owned pharmacy to individuals with illegitimate prescriptions 2024-08	Maryland	a pharmacy co-owned and operated by the pharmacist-in-charge	oxycodone 30 mg	pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and dispense a controlled substance; admitted that through a pharmacy he co-owned and operated as pharmacist-in-charge, he and co-conspirators dispensed oxycodone 30 mg pills to individuals with obviously illegitimate prescriptions for cash.	not stated	Maryland pharmacy license revoked; sentenced to 78 months' imprisonment followed by three years' supervised release.	none documented	source
Cumberland, Maryland Pharmacy Reaches Consent Decree Over Fraudulent Opioid Prescriptions 2023-07-06	Maryland Cumberland, Maryland	Retail pharmacy	Oxycodone and other opioids, often combined with benzodiazepines, carisoprodol, or buprenorphine	Filled fraudulent, high-MME prescriptions and dangerous drug combinations while ignoring documented red flags	not stated	Consent decree approved — $120,000 civil penalty plus mandatory red-flag protocol (July 2023)	$120,000 (civil settlement)	source
Pharmacist-in-charge diverted hydrocodone and tramadol powder from a pharmacy controlled-substance safe; Maryland license revoked 2023-07	Maryland	a pharmacy in Virginia (name omitted from the order)	Hydrocodone powder (schedule II) and Tramadol powder (schedule IV)	Alleged theft of a controlled substance from the pharmacy; a pharmacy video camera captured the pharmacist-in-charge removing medication from the controlled substance safe and placing it in his pocket or into a cup; an inventory found 847 mg of tramadol powder and 2,947 mg of hydrocodone powder missing; the pharmacy president stated the pharmacist admitted taking controlled substances, including hydrocodone powder, and using them in his coffee and other beverages while working; the pharmacist admitted to Virginia Board investigators that he diverted controlled substances from the pharmacy for personal use between August 13, 2021 and October 13, 2021.	not stated	Maryland pharmacist license revoked; order reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank	none documented	source
National chain pharmacy manager disciplined after oxycodone reported lost/stolen as employee pilferage 2023-06	Maryland Waldorf, MD	a national chain pharmacy	Oxycodone HCL 10 mg and 15 mg tablets	The pharmacy reported an occurrence classified as employee pilferage; a DEA report listed oxycodone HCL 10 mg and 15 mg tablets lost or stolen. The Board found the pharmacist violated patient safety and standard-of-care rules for filling questionable CII prescriptions without validation and for refusing-to-dispense requirements; fraud and false-record charges were dismissed as unsubstantiated.	not stated	Consent order: license reprimanded, placed on probation for at least one year, required continuing education, and a $1,000 fine.	none documented	source
Montgomery County Pharmacy Reaches Consent Decree Over Fraudulent Opioid Dispensing 2023-05-31	Maryland Germantown, Maryland	Retail pharmacy	Opioids dispensed concurrently with stimulants	Filled fraudulent prescriptions for out-of-area patients and high-MME, cash-paid combinations while ignoring red flags	not stated	Consent decree approved — $100,000 civil penalty; pharmacist license surrendered (May 2023)	$100,000 (civil penalty)	source
Pharmacy technician diverted a customer's oxycodone prescription at a Hagerstown pharmacy 2023-02	Maryland Hagerstown, MD	a pharmacy in Hagerstown, Maryland	oxycodone 5 mg/325 mg (oxycodone/acetaminophen), 45 pills	Alleged diversion of a customer's prescription: the technician was given the prescription, carried it with two others to the front register but gave only one to the cashier, placed the oxycodone prescription back in the customer waiting area, later removed the pills from the bag and put them in her pocket, and deleted the prescription on hold. She admitted to the pharmacy's asset protection manager that she diverted the oxycodone pills to self-medicate a back injury, and admitted in a written statement that she took a patient's medication and emptied 45 pills into her pocket.	not stated	Registration to practice as a pharmacy technician revoked by final order; the Board found diversion of a controlled dangerous substance.	none documented	source
Baltimore Pharmacy and Pharmacist Settle Red-Flag Dispensing Allegations 2022-05-12	Maryland Baltimore, Maryland	Independent retail pharmacy (Ultra Care Pharmacy, Baltimore, Maryland)	Controlled-substance prescriptions (opioids)	Filled facially fraudulent prescriptions for multiple unrelated people presented together, ignoring cross-gender OB/GYN prescribing and identical-quantity red flags	not stated	Consent decree approved; $15,000 civil penalty and corrective red-flag procedures required	$15,000 (civil penalty)	source
Pharmacy technician admitted taking Xanax, Lortab and Luminal without payment from a national chain pharmacy 2014-10	Maryland Baltimore, MD	a national chain pharmacy in Baltimore, Maryland	Xanax (alprazolam) 2 mg, Lortab (hydrocodone-APAP) 10/500 mg, Luminal (phenobarbital) 60 mg and 16.2 mg	admitted orally and in writing to taking the drugs without payment and stated the count was not accurate and that she stole the drugs	not stated	registration summarily suspended by the State Board of Pharmacy; terminated from employment; criminally charged in the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore County with theft less than $1,000 and theft-scheme less than $1,000	none documented	source
Pharmacy technician accused of removing pills from a filled Oxycontin prescription and returning it to conceal the theft 2012-12	Maryland Rockville, MD	a retail pharmacy chain location	Oxycontin 15 mg	Alleged to have pulled a customer's filled prescription from the staging area, removed pills, and returned the prescription to the staging area; the customer later reported 198 of 270 pills missing	not stated	Registration summarily suspended pending a show cause hearing	none documented	source
Pharmacy technician admitted diverting Valium, Promethazine/Codeine Syrup, Vicodin, Loratadine, and Soma from Pharmacy A 2012-07	Maryland	Pharmacy A	Valium, Promethazine/Codeine Syrup, Vicodin, Loratadine, and Soma	Admitted diverting drugs from Pharmacy A from the fall of 2010 until the spring of 2011; obtained the drugs for a family member and a friend, not for personal use.	not stated	Summarily suspended on January 31, 2012; permanently surrendered registration to practice as a pharmacy technician, with the Board accepting the surrender as a final order.	none documented	source
Internal medicine physician summarily suspended over chronic cocaine and opiate use 2011-11	Maryland Baltimore, MD	Facility	cocaine and opiates	The Board determined that the physician's chronic and active personal use of cocaine and opiates constituted a substantial likelihood of risk of serious harm to the public health, safety and welfare.	not stated	Summary suspension of medical license	none documented	source
Anesthesiologist admitted to repeatedly ingesting illicit substances and evading toxicology screens 2011-07	Maryland Baltimore, MD	Baltimore, MD	illicit substances	admitted to repeatedly ingesting illicit substances and deliberately evading detection on toxicology screens, in violation of a prior consent order	not stated	suspension	none documented	source
Physician assistant wrote unauthorized prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances for her own personal use 2011-07	Maryland Hagerstown, MD	Hagerstown, MD	Controlled Dangerous Substances	found to have written unauthorized prescriptions for Controlled Dangerous Substances for her own personal use, amid substance abuse issues	not stated	revocation	none documented	source
Respiratory care practitioner took controlled dangerous substances from her workplace 2011-05	Maryland Frederick, MD	Workplace	controlled dangerous substances	found to have taken controlled dangerous substances from her workplace	not stated	reprimand with terms and conditions, upon applying for reinstatement	none documented	source
Diagnostic radiologist prescribed controlled substances in the names of others for his own use 2010-07	Maryland Annapolis, MD	private medical practice	Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS)	The Board found that the physician prescribed CDS and other prescription medications in the names of other people for his own personal use.	not stated	Suspension for a minimum of 6 months, immediately stayed; Probation for a minimum of 5 years subject to terms and conditions.	none documented	source
Respiratory care practitioner took controlled substances from a hospital's automated dispensing cabinet dispensing system without authorization 2009-10	Maryland Baltimore, MD	hospital	controlled dangerous substances (CDS)	Took CDS from a hospital's automated dispensing cabinet system without authorization amid impairment issues	not stated	Reprimand; probation for a minimum of 1 year subject to terms and conditions	none documented	source
Anesthesiologist diverted controlled substances from his workplace for personal use 2009-06	Maryland	workplace	controlled dangerous substances (CDS)	Diverted CDS from his workplace for his personal use amid substance abuse issues	not stated	Reprimand; suspension until the physician's license is activated by the Oregon Medical Board	none documented	source
General practice physician accused of self-administering narcotics and writing prescriptions to family and staff without medical records 2009-02	Maryland Bowie, MD	General practice office	controlled dangerous substances (CDS)/narcotics	Board investigative findings alleged the physician was addicted to CDS, overdosed on narcotics in December 2008, and wrote multiple prescriptions to family members and office staff without maintaining medical records, while allowing patients to keep their own medical records.	not stated	Summary suspension	none documented	source
A physician assistant was accused of unauthorized prescribing of Schedule II narcotics to family members 2008-02	Maryland Annapolis, MD	Annapolis, MD	Schedule II narcotics	alleged unauthorized prescribing of Schedule II narcotics to family members, cited as part of the basis for an emergency public health and safety action	not stated	Summary suspension	none documented	source
Unlicensed resident removed narcotic patches from nursing home patient 2007-07	Maryland Baltimore, MD	nursing home	narcotic-eluding patches	unlawfully removed narcotic-eluding patches from a ventilator-dependent patient at a nursing home. He posed as a licensed physician and entered the nursing home's premises on several occasions before the patches were removed.	not stated	Permanent Revocation; any application for licensure, registration, or certification will not be accepted	none documented	source
Hospital anesthesiologist diverted controlled dangerous substances from medication management system and falsified patient records 2006-10	Maryland Berlin, MD	hospital	controlled dangerous substances (unspecified)	diverted controlled dangerous substances from a hospital medication management system and placed false information in patient medical records to conceal the diversion	not stated	Summary Suspension	none documented	source
Radiation therapy technologist forged prescriptions to obtain pain medication 2006-10	Maryland Eldersburg, MD	Eldersburg, MD	prescription pain medicine	forged prescriptions in her own name and in other names to obtain prescription pain medicine	not stated	Summary Suspension	none documented	source
Internist fraudulently wrote prescriptions for controlled substances and misrepresented having them filled 2006-09	Maryland Clinton, MD	Clinton, MD	controlled substances (unspecified)	fraudulently wrote prescriptions for controlled substances and made misrepresentations in having prescriptions filled	not stated	Suspension immediately stayed; probation for a minimum of 3 years; $10,000 fine	none documented	source
General practice physician summarily suspended after admitting cocaine use in violation of probation 2006-01	Maryland Columbia, MD	private medical practice	cocaine	Tested positive for cocaine in violation of a prior consent order and admitted to using cocaine on the occasion that produced the positive test.	not stated	Summary suspension	none documented	source
Internist's reinstatement denied over past substance abuse and fraud in obtaining controlled dangerous substances 2005-09	Maryland Annapolis, MD	Not specified	controlled dangerous substances	past misconduct concerning substance abuse and fraud in obtaining controlled dangerous substances and submitting false statements when he obtained licensure in Maryland	not stated	Reinstatement Denied; the Board will not accept any further applications for reinstatement for 5 years	none documented	source
Pathologist suspended for narcotic/CDS abuse and illegal prescribing 2005-08	Maryland Owings Mills, MD	Not specified	narcotic or controlled dangerous substances (CDS)	being addicted to or habitually abusing any narcotic or CDS; willfully making or filing a false report in the practice of medicine and when making application for licensure; and prescribing drugs for illegal or illegitimate medical purposes	not stated	Suspension for 5 years with terms and conditions; should the suspension be stayed, probation for 5 years with terms and conditions	none documented	source
Psychiatrist summarily suspended for prescribing controlled substances in others' names and picking up prescriptions 2005-06	Maryland College Park, MD	Not specified	controlled dangerous substances (CDS)	prescribing large quantities of CDS in the names of 12 individuals for whom the physician could not provide medical records, and picking up the filled prescriptions himself	not stated	Summary Suspension	none documented	source
Physician removed hospital supplies to administer a controlled substance to a friend and falsified test records to conceal it 2005-02	Maryland	a hospital	a controlled dangerous substance (CDS, unspecified)	Removed supplies from a hospital to intravenously administer a controlled dangerous substance to an addicted friend, then arranged for the friend's blood to be tested with results filed under another inpatient's name to conceal the act.	not stated	License revocation	none documented	source
General practice physician summarily suspended over alleged conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy and Phentermine 2004-03	Maryland Baltimore, MD	Practice	Ecstasy and Phentermine (controlled dangerous substances)	alleged conspiracy, possession, and intent to distribute CDS, and illegal manufacture, distribution, storage, and concealment of CDS	not stated	Summary suspension of medical license	none documented	source
Family practice physician's license revoked after ingesting morphine in violation of probation 2004-01	Maryland Catonsville, MD	Practice	Morphine	violated a prior Board consent order and rehabilitation contract by ingesting morphine	not stated	Revocation of license; barred from applying for reinstatement for 3 years	none documented	source
Physician assistant's certification revoked after guilty plea to illegally distributing oxycodone 2004-01	Maryland Montgomery, PA	Montgomery, PA	Oxycodone	pled guilty to distributing Oxycodone not for legitimate medical purposes, and to falsely altering a certificate of discharge from the Army	not stated	Revocation of certification	none documented	source
Anesthesiologist placed on probation after being sanctioned for abusing fentanyl and Demerol 2003-07	Maryland Los Angeles, CA	Practice	fentanyl and Demerol (meperidine)	Found by a state medical board to have abused fentanyl and Demerol, controlled substances to which the physician had professional access.	not stated	5 years probation subject to terms and conditions (reciprocal to an Arizona Medical Board sanction)	none documented	source
Radiation therapy technologist's certification revoked after positive drug test for morphine 2003-01	Maryland Bel Air, MD	Bel Air, MD	morphine	Tested positive for morphine on a urine screen, in violation of a disposition agreement with the licensing board that required abstinence from controlled substances.	not stated	Certification revoked	none documented	source
Physician assistant self-prescribed narcotic analgesics and benzodiazepines while addicted to opiates 2000-03	Maryland Baltimore, MD	Practice	narcotic analgesics and benzodiazepines	The Board found that the practitioner, who had a problem with opiate dependency, filled prescriptions for himself for narcotic analgesics and benzodiazepines, and was found guilty of providing professional services while using a narcotic or controlled dangerous substance and being addicted to narcotics or CDS.	not stated	Suspension for three years effective 12/15/1999, with 26 months stayed (10 months active suspension), followed by probation for five years subject to terms and conditions	none documented	source
Physician assistant applicant found guilty by court-martial of self-prescribing controlled substances and prescribing them for his spouse without authorization 1999-12	Maryland Virginia Beach, VA	U.S. Navy	CDS (controlled dangerous substances, unspecified)	found guilty by Navy court-martial of self-prescribing and prescribing for his spouse controlled dangerous substances without authorization	not stated	Application for certification denied	none documented	source
Psychiatrist in Salisbury, MD, reprimanded for writing controlled dangerous substance prescriptions for himself under others' names 1999-08	Maryland Salisbury, MD	Psychiatric practice	controlled dangerous substances	wrote prescriptions for controlled dangerous substances for himself in the names of others and issued undated CDS for patients	not stated	Reprimand; terms and conditions for four years	none documented	source
Physician wrote prescriptions in patients' names and diverted the controlled substance for personal use 1999-04	Maryland Kensington, MD	Kensington, MD	Stadol (a controlled dangerous substance)	Alleged to have written prescriptions for patients for a controlled dangerous substance and then used part or all of the medication himself, and to have asked other physicians to write him personal prescriptions for the same drug	not stated	Summary suspension based on investigatory findings of imperative health, safety, and welfare concerns	none documented	source
Family practice physician convicted of illegally distributing stimulants and dispensing controlled substances 1997-04	Maryland Potomac, MD	Practice	stimulants	Convicted in circuit court of fifteen counts of distribution of stimulants and seven counts of unlawful dispensing of a controlled substance; the conviction was affirmed on appeal.	not stated	License revocation, statutorily required following the criminal conviction	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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