Drug Diversion Case Studies

Anchorage nurse practitioner charged with manslaughter and drug distribution for opioid prescriptions without office visits

Anchorage, AK

Prosecutors alleged that an Anchorage nurse practitioner used her position to fraudulently give a patient and others vast quantities of prescription opioids, often prescribing without office visits, chart notes or explanation and sometimes taking refill requests via Facebook messages. The charging document alleged she prescribed diazepam, oxycodone, tramadol, hydrocodone and Ambien to the patient, and that another person sold the opioids to the patient. The patient died of an opioid overdose in 2015 with diazepam, oxycodone and alcohol in her system; the nurse practitioner was indicted on 18 felony counts including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, pleaded not guilty, and had her nursing license suspended.

Farmville pharmacy and pharmacist-in-charge ordered to pay $600,000 and permanently barred from dispensing controlled substances

A federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina entered a consent judgment requiring a Farmville pharmacy and its owner and pharmacist-in-charge to pay $600,000 in civil penalties and never again dispense opioids or other controlled substances. The government alleged that for years the defendants ignored well-known red flags of diversion, including filling high-dose opioid cocktails for long-distance patients, hundreds of opioid prescriptions for members of the same family, and prescriptions from a prescriber known to have been cut off by other pharmacies. Under the order, the pharmacist surrenders his pharmacy license and the pharmacy surrenders its DEA registration. The claims remain allegations only, with no judicial determination or admission of liability.

Rawlins physician charged with prescribing oxycodone and other controlled substances outside legitimate medical practice

Rawlins, WY

A former physician in Rawlins, Wyoming was charged in a 32-count federal indictment with dispensing oxycodone, alprazolam, tramadol, promethazine with codeine, amphetamine/dextroamphetamine and hydrocodone from 2014 to 2017 without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice, including to people and pregnant women under 21. He was scheduled to plead guilty in federal court in Cheyenne in late February 2020. The Wyoming Board of Medicine suspended his license in 2017 after finding he inappropriately prescribed controlled substances for other than legitimate purposes, prescribed them to known abusers, and offered drugs in exchange for sex, and he voluntarily relinquished his license in August 2018.

Iowa Nursing Home Nurse Sentenced for Stealing Patients' Pain Medication

Manchester, Iowa

Katie Louise Boll, a nurse at an Iowa nursing home, obtained hydrocodone, morphine, oxycodone, codeine, and tramadol from at least fourteen patients in her care through misrepresentation and deception, and diluted a patient's liquid morphine with mouthwash until it was less than 2 percent of its labeled strength. She pleaded guilty in September 2019 to tampering with a consumer product and acquiring controlled substances by fraud, and was sentenced in January 2020 to four years in federal prison.

Casper pharmacy agreed to $1 million civil settlement over controlled substance dispensing allegations

A Casper, Wyoming pharmacy agreed in January 2020 to pay $1 million to resolve federal allegations of drug law violations, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming. The pharmacy was investigated in connection with the criminal prosecution of a physician who was convicted of illegally distributing prescription medication and sentenced in August 2019 to 25 years in prison. The civil settlement is not a finding of liability; it does not require an admission of wrongdoing by the pharmacy, and neither the pharmacy nor its employees were named in the criminal case.

Virginia Nurse License Suspended Over Roanoke-Area Nursing Home Opioid Diversion

Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia

A Virginia nurse who worked at Pheasant Ridge Nursing and Rehab Center in Roanoke and Central Healthcare in Lynchburg, among other area employers, had a nursing license suspended after a local TV investigation and Virginia Board of Nursing action found she diverted opioids for personal, unauthorized use across multiple healthcare employers.

Wyoming Physician Convicted in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2020)

Wyoming

Rawlins physician indicted on 30 charges in March 2019 pleaded guilty to 20 of them for prescribing controlled substances without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the course of professional practice, and agreed to forever relinquish his medical license and prescription authority.

Wyoming Nurse Sentenced in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2020)

Wyoming

Lander APRN pleaded in October 2019 to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation, deception or subterfuge and on June 18, 2020 was sentenced to one year of probation including six months of home detention, a $2,000 fine, and surrender of future prescribing rights; other counts were dismissed.

Kentucky Pharmacist Convicted in Opioid Diversion Case (2020)

Kentucky

Albany, KY pharmacist and owner of Shearer Drug pleaded guilty to three counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances (hydrocodone cough medicine and alprazolam) for filling prescriptions not issued for a legitimate medical purpose.

Ohio Nurse Convicted in Opioid Diversion Case (2020)

Ohio

Former nurse at Crestmont North Nursing Facility in Lakewood pleaded guilty January 14, 2020 to theft and drug possession for taking morphine and hydromorphone from a medication cart in March 2019 and diluting the liquid with water; sentencing was continued.

Louisiana Pharmacist Convicted in Opioid Diversion Case (2020)

Louisiana

Licensed pharmacist at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center in Shreveport was found guilty by a federal jury of 15 counts of acquiring a controlled substance by fraud (hydrocodone taken from veterans' mail-out prescriptions).

Pennsylvania Nurse Charged in Opioid Diversion Case (2020)

Pennsylvania

UPMC Magee nurse Tiffany Hafner turned herself in in May 2020 on multiple charges, including neglect of a care dependent person and controlled substance act violations, for allegedly taking a patient's oxycodone and replacing it with Lunesta.

Iowa Pharmacist Faces License Action Over Controlled Substance Diversion (2020)

Iowa

At its June 23, 2020 meeting the Iowa Board of Pharmacy approved a Combined Statement of Charges, Settlement Agreement, and Final Order charging pharmacist Anthony Pape with diverting prescription drugs from a pharmacy for personal use and practice harmful to the public; his license was indefinitely suspended with a probationary period upon reinstatement.

Washington Nurse Faces License Action Over Controlled Substance Diversion (2020)

Washington

Trisha Marie Whetter's nursing credential was indefinitely suspended in October 2020 after she did not respond to a statement of charges alleging diversion of controlled substances and recordkeeping issues; her 2025 trainee application was denied.

Missouri Pharmacist Sentenced in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2020)

Missouri

A pharmacist from Pittsburg, Kansas, was sentenced in federal court in St. Louis, Missouri, on Oct. 27, 2020 after pleading guilty to obtaining narcotic opioid prescription drugs with forged prescriptions. Sentence was three years' probation, a $5,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.

Arkansas Physician Convicted in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2020)

Arkansas

Dr. Robin Ann Cox, a Rogers, Arkansas physician, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance without an effective prescription.

Georgia Physician Sentenced in Opioid Diversion Case (2020)

Georgia

Savannah physician Frank H. Bynes Jr., found guilty by a federal jury in October 2019 of 13 counts of unlawful dispensation of controlled substances and 3 counts of health care fraud, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $615,145.06 restitution.

Pennsylvania Physician Sentenced in Opioid Diversion Case (2020)

Pennsylvania

DuBois, Pa. doctor David James Girardi pleaded guilty in March 2019 to health care fraud for submitting claims to Highmark for six oxycodone and hydrocodone prescriptions written in his wife's name but intended for his own use, and was sentenced Feb. 4, 2020 to probation and home confinement (term not stated in the OIG text).

Pennsylvania Physician Sentenced in Opioid Diversion Case (2020, case 2)

Pennsylvania

Richard Ira Mintz, D.O., 69, of Dresher, Pa., was sentenced Jan. 8, 2020 to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100,000 fine for illegally distributing controlled substances (oxycodone). sentence_months records the 12 months; the extra day is not counted.

Connecticut Nurse Convicted in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2020)

Connecticut

Nurse Lisa M. Alexander, 54, of Cheshire, Conn., waived indictment and pleaded guilty Oct. 30, 2020 in New Haven to a charge stemming from writing prescriptions for oxycodone and Xanax outside the scope of professional practice. No sentence is stated.

Pennsylvania Physician Sentenced in Controlled Substance Diversion Case (2020)

Pennsylvania

Dr. Spiro Y. Kassis, 66, of Plymouth Township, Pa., was sentenced Feb. 19, 2020 to 48 months, two years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine after pleading guilty to 14 counts of distributing controlled substances outside professional practice.

Bucks County Dentist Pays $150,000 for Opioid Diversion and Recordkeeping Violations

Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Dr. Pranathi V. Reddy, a dentist practicing in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, diverted a package of controlled substances for personal use in October 2018, resulting in an overdose that required hospital transport. A subsequent investigation by the DEA and the Pennsylvania Department of State found she had also failed for over a year to maintain required inventory, transfer, and storage records for the controlled substances used in her dental practice. Reddy settled the civil allegations with the U.S. Attorney's Office, agreeing to pay $150,000, to stop purchasing, prescribing, or dispensing Schedule II controlled substances for at least four years, and to submit to ongoing DEA reporting requirements. The settlement resolved allegations only, with no admission of liability.

Haverhill Nurse Sentenced for Tampering with Hospice Patient's Morphine

Amesbury, Massachusetts

Lauren Perrin, a licensed practical nurse at Maplewood Care and Rehabilitation Center in Amesbury, Massachusetts, took morphine sulfate from three bottles prescribed to a hospice patient for her own personal use and replaced the missing volume with cough syrup to avoid detection. The tampering diluted the medication to as little as 4-29% of its intended potency, depriving the dying patient of adequate pain relief in the weeks before her death. Perrin pleaded guilty in September 2019 to one count of tampering with a consumer product and was sentenced on December 18, 2019 to 54 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.

Connecticut Pharmacist Admits Tampering with Home-Infusion Narcotics

Wolcott, Connecticut

Carl Mancini, a licensed pharmacist at a Connecticut company that compounded home and hospice intravenous infusions, used a syringe to withdraw hydromorphone and morphine from vials between January and June 2019, reinjecting saline so the vials would appear unopened. He used specialized crimping tools to reseal the tampered vials before returning them to the secure pharmacy area, and pleaded guilty in December 2019 to tampering with a consumer product.

Air-Evacuation Paramedic Tampered with Fentanyl and Ketamine Vials

Weatherford, Oklahoma

Colin Andrew Davis, a paramedic for an emergency air-evacuation company, removed fentanyl and ketamine from vials in November 2017 and replaced them with sterile saline, so patients undergoing emergency air evacuation risked receiving saline instead of pain medication or anesthesia. A narcotics log later showed medical staff had already administered the tampered fentanyl to three patients and the tampered ketamine to one before Davis admitted what he had done; a life-flight mission had to be canceled because he was too disoriented to work. He was sentenced in December 2019 to six months in federal prison.