What Happened
A registered nurse at a hospital in Chamberlain, South Dakota, was convicted of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge.
According to the text, between June 19 and September 11, 2021, the nurse removed fentanyl citrate for injection from a vial, replaced most of it with saline solution, and returned the tampered vial to storage knowing the diluted fentanyl could be dispensed to surgical patients. The nurse was sentenced in September 2023 to two years of probation and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. The text also states the nurse was indicted in October 2022 on charges including tampering with consumer products and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud; those counts were alleged.
What the Record Shows
Convicted and sentenced to two years of probation and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Why It Matters for Diversion Programs
This entry comes from a news source rather than a federal enforcement release, and it is recorded as reported: Tampered with a vial of fentanyl citrate for injection by removing the fentanyl and replacing the majority of it with saline solution, then returned the tampered vial to storage knowing the diluted fentanyl could be dispensed to surgical patients; also obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge.. Board and news records are a lagging indicator - by the time a licensing authority or a reporter learns of a diversion, the diversion was normally detected internally first, which makes each entry a signal that inventory reconciliation, waste observation or dispensing oversight failed earlier.