Penalty outcomes stated in the case records

These figures describe the 730 records collected in this registry, not the population of all pharmacy and healthcare drug diversion cases; cases that were never publicised or never collected are not in them.

Stated prison and jail terms, by length

Of the 730 records, 548 state at least one imposed penalty or outcome; this chart counts the 111 custodial terms whose length is stated in 106 of them, and excludes the 10 prison or jail records that give no length, only an approximate one (“more than six years”) or a term served only in part (“all but 30 days suspended”).

Bands: under 12 months; 12 to 36 months; over 36 to 60 months; over 60 to 120 months; over 120 months; life. A term of exactly 3, 5 or 10 years is in the band that ends there; “12 months and a day” is in 1–3 yrs.

Outcome types

Counts are out of the 548 records that state an outcome. A record can state several (a prison term, a fine and a surrendered licence), so the first count column does not add up to 548; the last column counts each record once, under the first type in this table’s order that it states (the order of the list, not a ranking), and does add up to 548.

• Prison or jail: a prison, jail or incarceration term stated as imposed, including a term partly suspended.
• Probation (criminal): probation ordered by a court. Probation placed on a licence is a licence action.
• Fine, civil penalty or settlement: a criminal fine, administrative or civil penalty, or a civil settlement payment, whoever paid it.
• Licence or registration action: a professional licence, DEA registration, permit or certification revoked, suspended (including summary and interim suspensions), surrendered, placed on probation, reprimanded or restricted.
• Restitution: restitution ordered.
• Deferred / other: deferred sentences, diversion programmes, suspended sentences, home confinement, community service or corrections, forfeiture, money judgments and exclusion from federal health programmes.

Fine range

163 records state a fine, civil penalty or settlement; 147 of them give a dollar amount (148 amounts, as one record can state more than one).

The range covers amounts paid by individuals and by organisations alike. Restitution, forfeiture, money judgments, special assessments and costs are not counted as fines. Itemised organisational settlements are on settlements and fines.

By drug class

The same counts for the penalty-stating records in each drug class (drug classes as in the case database). A record that names drugs from two classes is counted in both, so rows do not add up to 548.

How these are counted

Each count is computed from the records when the site starts: the Status, Outcome and Board action facts shown on each case page, plus the structured penalty amounts behind settlements and fines. Text that describes a possible or pending outcome (“faces up to 10 years”, “sentencing set for”, “proposed”) is not counted. A record that states no imposed outcome (charges, pleas awaiting sentence, investigations, 182 records in all) is outside the 548. Matching is by wording, so an unusually phrased record can be missed or placed in a neighbouring type; corrections are welcome through the contact form. The records themselves can be downloaded from the dataset page.

Educational analysis of public records, not legal advice.