A nurse at a long-term care facility in Belleville, Illinois was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance after a drug diversion investigation by the Illinois State Police Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau. The investigation found the nurse falsely recorded that residents had asked for their prescribed as-needed hydrocodone when the residents had made no such requests, and took the hydrocodone for personal use.
Facility staff contacted the state police bureau on April 20, 2016 with allegations of hydrocodone diversion. After the investigation was complete, the case was referred to the Illinois Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Bureau for prosecution.
The nurse was sentenced to two years of felony probation and 30 hours of community service. The release notes that bureau investigators regularly present to administrators and directors of nursing at long-term care facilities, where diversion cases can be common. No licensing action is described in the document.