What Happened
A registered nurse at a hospital in Chamberlain, South Dakota, 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.
The nurse pleaded guilty and was convicted of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge. The nurse was sentenced to two years of probation and a $100 special assessment. The incidents occurred between June 19, 2021, and September 11, 2021.
What the Record Shows
convicted of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge; 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: removed fentanyl citrate for injection from a vial and replaced the majority of it with saline solution, then returned the tampered vial to storage. 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.