Diversion Case Studies

Charlotte pharmacy technician convicted of embezzling oxycodone via fraudulent prescription

A pharmacy technician working a drive-thru window at a Charlotte chain pharmacy accepted a $100 payment from an unidentified man and completed an incomplete oxycodone prescription using another patient's information pulled from the pharmacy's patient portal. A pharmacist raised concerns the same day, and the pharmacy's investigators reviewed security footage and the prior day's prescriptions before interviewing the technician, who signed a written statement. A Mecklenburg County jury convicted the technician of embezzlement of a controlled substance under N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-108(a)(14), and the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in December 2020 over a dissent.

Physician at Green Mountain Family Medicine diverted controlled substances by writing staff members' prescriptions for personal and family use

Rutland and White River Junction, VT

A physician who owned Green Mountain Family Medicine, with offices in Rutland and White River Junction, Vermont, admitted to writing and receiving at least nine controlled-substance prescriptions in staff members' names for his own use from May 2013 through October 2015. The controlled substances included hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen, lorazepam, diazepam, and tramadol. The physician also admitted writing at least four controlled-substance prescriptions in staff members' names for an immediate family member's use, including diazepam and carisoprodol, and altering staff medical records to include false information about the prescriptions. The Board approved a consent order reprimanding the physician, suspending his license for five years with time served from June 21, 2016, prohibiting him from prescribing Schedule II-V controlled substances in Vermont, and imposing a $9,000 administrative penalty.

Las Vegas nurse sentenced for illegally prescribing hydrocodone and oxycodone in a cash-for-prescriptions scheme

Las Vegas, NV

A nurse practicing in Las Vegas pleaded guilty to eight counts of distribution of a controlled substance and eight counts of health care fraud, the Department of Justice announced, and was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison. From January to around May 2018, the nurse arranged with a surgical technician and a physician to give hydrocodone and oxycodone to patients without a legitimate medical purpose in exchange for cash, and wrote illegal prescriptions without a medical purpose. Between July 2016 and December 2017, the nurse also wrote prescriptions for lidocaine, modafinil and diclofenac sodium without examining the patient and billed Medicare and Medicaid; the prescriptions were filled at Atlas Pharmacy, which paid roughly $30,000 in exchange for referrals. The nurse was sentenced in May 2019, will serve three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $3,749,121 in restitution.

Utah County sheriff's evidence technician charged with taking drugs slated for destruction

A former forensic technician with the Utah County Sheriff's Office was charged in May 2019 with stealing drugs that were supposed to be destroyed. The charges, filed in 4th District Court, were three class A misdemeanor counts of possession of hydrocodone or OxyContin and three class B misdemeanor counts of theft. The charges are allegations, and the available report does not describe a resolution.

Morgantown pharmacist sentenced to 121 months for distributing oxycodone outside professional practice

A Morgantown, West Virginia pharmacist pleaded guilty in May 2019 to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances outside the bounds of professional medical practice and to filing a false tax return, and was later sentenced to 121 months in federal prison. The pharmacist admitted to conspiring with others to distribute more than 7,400 grams of oxycodone in Monongalia County and elsewhere between August 2014 and August 2018. The court ordered $507,942.42 in restitution to the IRS and former employees and entered a money judgment of $1,845,000, and under the plea agreement the pharmacist agreed to give up the pharmacy license and not seek reinstatement.

Lewiston pharmacy technician sentenced to 54 months after stealing nearly 60,000 pills from employer

A pharmacy technician at a Lewiston pharmacy was sentenced in federal court to 54 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. According to court records, the technician began stealing prescription controlled substances in August 2017 and took almost 60,000 pills over roughly eleven months before being arrested, including over 45,000 hydrocodone pills. Many of the pills were distributed to others who sold them locally, and the court ordered restitution of over $30,000 to the pharmacy.

Rhode Island VA Nurse Sentenced Over Liquid Opioid Tampering

Providence, Rhode Island

A Veterans Affairs Medical Center nurse in Providence was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for tampering with and fraudulently obtaining morphine and other opioid prescriptions meant for patients, admitting he removed vials of liquid opioids from a locked storage cart and left behind vials filled with saline.

Boise hospital nurse diverted fentanyl vials by falsifying dispensing-system records

Boise, ID

A registered nurse at a Boise hospital had access to a system that monitored the distribution and management of prescription medications, including controlled substances. On at least 28 occasions, the nurse accessed the machine and removed fentanyl 100 mcg/2 mL vials by falsifying and manipulating information in the system, according to court records cited by the U.S. Attorney's office. The nurse pleaded guilty on Oct. 25, 2018, and was sentenced to three years of probation; the case was investigated by a DEA-led Tactical Diversion Squad.

Hilo clinic physician and employees accused of unlawfully distributing opioids

Hilo, HI

At a medical clinic in Hilo, a physician and four employees were arrested and accused of prescribing and unlawfully distributing powerful narcotics, sedatives and opioids, including hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine. They are scheduled to stand trial in U.S. District Court in June.

Army hospital pharmacy technician admitted stealing and distributing hydrocodone and oxycodone

Oahu, Hawaii

A pharmacy technician at Tripler Army Medical Center was charged with and later admitted stealing and distributing 8,505 pills containing five milligrams of either hydrocodone or oxycodone from the hospital's pharmacy vault. The technician is serving a one-year sentence in a federal correctional institution in California.

Idaho Nurse Sentenced in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2019)

Idaho

Boise hospital registered nurse Jennifer L. Fanopoulos was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty (Oct. 25, 2018) to obtaining controlled substances by fraud involving fentanyl vials.

Rhode Island Nurse Sentenced in Opioid Diversion Case (2019)

Rhode Island

Jared Scott, 35, of West Warwick, a former nurse at the Providence VA Medical Center, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to tampering with a consumer product and acquiring a controlled substance by deception; he removed liquid opioids from vials and replaced them with saline.

Colorado Pharmacist Sentenced in Opioid Diversion Case (2019)

Colorado

Owner-operator of St. Vrain Pharmacy in Lyons was convicted of illegal distribution of narcotics (OxyContin and amphetamine sold without prescription) and sentenced to six months in federal prison, a $20,000 forfeiture and $55,000 community restitution.

Missouri Pharmacy Technician Sentenced in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2019)

Missouri

A former Mercy Hospital pharmacy technician in Springfield, Mo. was sentenced in federal court to three years in prison for tampering with a consumer product after admitting he diluted morphine and fentanyl syringes he loaded.

Kansas Pharmacist Sentenced in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2019)

Kansas

A Salina pharmacist who worked at CVS pleaded guilty to distributing about 21,289 hydrocodone/acetaminophen tablets outside the usual course of professional practice and received 36 months of probation including 18 months of house arrest; under her plea agreement she agreed to surrender her pharmacist license.

KU Hospital Pharmacy Tech Stole 483 Bags of Fentanyl

Kansas City, Kansas

A pharmacy technician at the University of Kansas Hospital stole fentanyl from the hospital where his duties included stocking automated dispensing cabinets, taking 483 bags of the drug over time. He was sentenced in 2018 to three years of probation, and his pharmacy license was revoked.

Tribal pharmacy in St. Ignatius paid civil penalty after about 2,500 oxycodone pills went missing

Approximately 2,500 oxycodone pills were stolen or unaccounted for at the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' pharmacy in St. Ignatius, prompting a Drug Enforcement Administration inspection covering March 2017 to March 2018. The DEA alleged the pharmacy failed to adequately track controlled-substance records and failed to report the missing oxycodone. The pharmacy resolved the alleged violations through a civil settlement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, agreeing to pay a $95,520 penalty and to conduct annual compliance evaluations for three years; the settlement is not a finding of liability.

Arizona pharmacist and technician sentenced for diverting over 200,000 opioid tablets through two Phoenix-area pharmacies

A pharmacist who owned two Phoenix-area pharmacies and a pharmacy technician who worked for her were convicted in federal court of conspiring to distribute controlled substances and to launder drug proceeds. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, from September 2014 until their arrest in July 2017 the pharmacies processed fraudulent prescriptions and distributed more than 200,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone tablets, thousands of alprazolam tablets, and more than 13 gallons of promethazine with codeine into the community. The pharmacist was sentenced on November 28, 2018 to 120 months in prison; the technician had earlier been sentenced to 48 months. Two coconspirators who created fraudulent prescriptions and distributed the drugs to street-level dealers were also convicted.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' Pharmacy Settles Over Missing Oxycodone

St. Ignatius, Montana

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' Pharmacy on the Flathead Indian Reservation agreed to pay a $95,520 civil penalty after a DEA inspection, prompted by roughly 2,500 oxycodone pills that were stolen or unaccounted for, found the pharmacy had failed to adequately track controlled-substance records and failed to report the missing pills to DEA. The pharmacy also agreed to certify compliance annually for three years or face a judgment of up to $240,640. The settlement was announced November 20, 2018.

Montana reservation pharmacy settled over 2,500 unaccounted-for oxycodone tablets

A pharmacy on Montana's Flathead Indian Reservation agreed to a $95,000 settlement after it could not account for about 2,500 oxycodone tablets over a one-year period ending March 2018. A Drug Enforcement Administration inspection found that staff were not adequately tracking controlled substances and that the pharmacy had not reported the missing oxycodone to the agency. The settlement, reached with the tribal government that operates the pharmacy, requires compliance with federal controlled-substance recordkeeping rules and exposes the pharmacy to a $240,000 fine for any future violations. A settlement is a negotiated resolution and not a finding of liability.

Registered nurse alleged to have diverted a controlled substance from a nursing facility in Mukwonago

Mukwonago, WI

A registered nurse was alleged to have diverted a controlled substance from a nursing facility in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on or around November 7, 2018. The Wisconsin Board of Nursing accepted a stipulation and entered a final decision and order on September 10, 2020, accepting surrender of the nurse's license, barring reinstatement for at least one year, and imposing $632 in costs.

Physician charged with health care fraud and distributing Suboxone without medical necessity through a clinic

Dublin, OH

A federal grand jury charged a Central Ohio physician practicing in Dublin with charges related to a health care fraud scheme and with prescribing and distributing Suboxone without medical necessity. The scheme allegedly included marketing prescription creams in Sav-a-Lot and low-income neighborhoods and persistently mailing those creams to Medicaid customers. The physician was charged in a seven-count indictment and was scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court. The Board of Pharmacy collaborated on the investigation with the Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, HHS Office of Inspector General, DEA and FBI.

Two South Denver pharmacists pleaded guilty to felony opioid distribution charges

Two pharmacists practicing in south Denver pleaded guilty in federal court to felony charges related to the illegal dispensing and distribution of controlled substances, including opioids. The pleas were announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado and the DEA Denver Division in October 2018. The release does not describe the sentences imposed.

Hospital pharmacy technician diverted hydrocodone and oxycodone from a pharmacy vault through fraudulent automated dispensing transactions

A former pharmacy technician at Tripler Army Medical Center was sentenced to 12 months in jail and six years of court supervision after pleading guilty to one count each of possessing with intent to distribute hydrocodone and oxycodone. According to the report, she stole 8,505 pills, each containing 5 milligrams of either painkiller, from the hospital's pharmacy vault between February 2017 and March 2018, using her fingerprint and unique login to conduct 82 fraudulent transactions in the hospital's automated medication distribution and tracking system, which did not require a valid prescription for patients being discharged. The report states she supplied pills to her boyfriend and used some herself, and that she repaid the hospital $1,033 before sentencing.

Las Vegas nurse practitioner and surgical technician pleaded guilty to distributing hydrocodone and oxycodone prescriptions for cash

An advanced practice registered nurse and a surgical technician pleaded guilty in federal court in Las Vegas in October 2018 to unlawfully distributing prescription opioids, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada announced. Investigators said that from about January to May 2018 the two conspired to distribute hydrocodone and oxycodone to people without a legitimate medical purpose in exchange for cash, with the technician meeting buyers in parking lots and handing out prescriptions from the nurse practitioner's pad bearing a physician's pre-signed DEA number. The nurse practitioner also pleaded guilty to health care fraud tied to prescriptions written without a legitimate medical purpose, which the government said cost Medicare and Medicaid approximately $3.7 million.