A 37-year-old woman from North Carolina was working as a pharmacy manager, and she’s been accused of using that position to commit fraud. To cover up the income she was earning through that fraud, she has also been accused of money laundering.
The case recently began, and she entered a guilty plea.
Reports allege that she lied about having patient prescriptions for specific drugs, allowing her to be given a lower price than could be found elsewhere. Since she didn’t actually have patients who needed the medications, she then turned around and sold them. She worked with unauthorized drug wholesalers who would pay higher prices than what she’d been given.
The reports also note that, while some of the drugs were plentiful, a portion of them were in short supply.
In any case, the woman also opened a number of bank accounts to put aside the money she was earning with each high-priced sale. She would transfer the money through these accounts in order to make it harder to track.
The state’s Acting Assistant Attorney General released a statement during the proceedings, saying that her actions were problematic for patients and medical centers that needed these low-supply drugs, increasing the price. He also said that the risk of patients being given unsafe drugs or ineffective medications went up due to the scheme.
Though the woman has pleaded guilty, her case still shows how important it is for those facing charges to know their legal options. She has not yet been sentenced, and sentencing is often impact by the type of plea entered. It’s also crucial to make sure that any sentence handed down is just and fitting for the accusations. Even those who plead guilty have numerous rights that must be respected.
Source: GoBlueRidge.net, “Pharmacy manager pleads guilty to illegal prescription drug diversion and money laundering,” Bill Fisher, Sep. 26, 2017
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