March 14, 2018: Meridian Nurse Practitioner Pleads Guilty to Obtaining Controlled Substances by Fraud
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Food and Drug Administration
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U.S. Department of Justice Press Release
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For Immediate Release |
United States Department of Justice District of Idaho |
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BOISE – Cheri Susan Thomas, 37, of Meridian, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to obtaining controlled substances by fraud, identity theft, and misbranding a drug while held for sale, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. A Boise federal grand jury indicted Thomas on January 9, 2018.
According to court records, Thomas was employed as a nurse practitioner by a medical facility with multiple facilities in Idaho. Each facility had a locked cabinet where controlled substances were kept. Thomas did not have access to the locked cabinets. On at least seven occasions, however, Thomas accessed the cabinets at different facilities, and took bottles of Schedule II controlled substances, including hydrocodone. Thomas then replaced the controlled substances with different medications, resealed the bottles and placed them back in the cabinets. For example, on October 31, 2017, Thomas knowingly and intentionally removed a bottle of hydrocodone/APAP 10mg/325mg containing 20 tablets. She removed the hydrocodone pills, replaced them with Flexeril tablets, and put the bottle back into the cabinet. The replacement of the controlled substances with other medication caused the drugs to be misbranded because the labeling became false and misleading as to the bottle’s contents. In addition, when Thomas replaced the misbranded drug back into the cabinet, she moved the pack of bottles around to place the misbranded drugs in the back.
On two occasions, Thomas knowingly and intentionally forged fraudulent prescriptions to herself using another provider’s information. For example, on October 26, 2017, Thomas forged a prescription for hydrocodone/APAP 10mg/325mg using another provider’s information to facilitate the crime of obtaining controlled substances by fraud. The other provider never saw Thomas as a patient and did not authorize the prescription. Thomas fraudulently filled the prescription in Meridian, Idaho, obtaining 30 tablets of hydrocodone/APAP 10mg/325mg.
The charge of obtaining controlled substances by fraud is punishable by up to four years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of one year of supervised release. The charge of identity theft is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of three years of supervised release. The charge of misbranding a drug while held for sale is punishable by up to three years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of one year of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for June 5, 2018, before Senior U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration led Tactical Diversion Squad, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations.
Topic(s):
Prescription Drugs
Identity Theft
Component(s):
Contact:
BARBARA LAYMAN Public Information Officer (208) 334-1211 barbara.layman@usdoj.gov