What Happened
A registered nurse at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, pleaded guilty in U.S.
District Court in Burlington to diverting drugs from psychiatric ward patients and tampering with medications between March 2025 and Nov 20, 2025 The nurse admitted taking amphetamine/dextroamphetamine capsules from patients, removing the regulated ingredients, and returning empty or nearly empty capsules to circulation, and removing methylphenidate tablets and replacing them with hydroxyzine tablets for administration to patients. The nurse also pleaded guilty to a second felony count of acquiring amphetamine/dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate through fraud and deception Sentencing is planned for Oct 23, with a plea agreement capping the proposed sentence at 24 months and the maximum penalty at 14 years and $500,000; the nurse agreed to forfeit a New Hampshire nursing license.
What the Record Shows
Pleaded guilty to two felony counts; sentencing planned for Oct. 23; plea agreement capped the proposed sentence at 24 months, with a maximum penalty of 14 years and $500,000; agreed to forfeit a New Hampshire nursing license.
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: Diverted amphetamine/dextroamphetamine capsules from psychiatric patients, removed the regulated ingredients, and returned empty or nearly empty capsules to circulation; removed methylphenidate tablets and replaced them with hydroxyzine tablets for administration to patients; acquired amphetamine/dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate through fraud and deception.. 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.