FEDS: DENTAL EMPLOYEES STOLE MONEY, OBTAINED DRUGS
SWANTON VT: Federal Law Enforcement Officers arrested two local women in connection with stolen prescription pads and money from a local dental office.
According to court records, Agents arrested Lindsey Cox of Swanton on December 4 2018. Tammy Larocque of St. Albans was arrested the same day.
Both women are accused of obtaining oxycodone by way of fraud.
In addition, Lindsay Cox is also accused of a second count of obtaining fraudulent oxycodone, as well as one count of embezzlement.
The County Courier is the first news agency to report on this case.
Federal court records did not indicate how much money was missing, or the quantity of oxycodone the pair is accused of acquiring.
The pair worked at RVI Dental Center in St. Albans, according to court records.
Few details were available in the case, but the indictment for the pair indicated that the offenses dated back to at least May of 2016 and were not discovered until at least August of 2017.
According to the court records, Cox and Larocque were creating fake prescriptions by forging the signature of the doctor and filling the prescriptions at local pharmacies.
Prosecutors indicated in the indictment that there may be other people who helped with them to illegally obtain the drugs. It is unclear if more people will be charged in connection with these defendants.
It’s possible that others could be implicated and prosecuted in the course of the investigation and prosecution of these alleged crimes as prosecutors wrote
The case is being prosecuted by the Federal Prosecutor’s office in Burlington.
Both women were released on conditions, including that they do not discuss the case with anyone who may be a witness to the alleged crimes. They also must maintain or actively seek employment. Additionally, the women are prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol while out on release.
Larocque is being represented by Robert Katims. Cox is being represented by the Federal Public Defender’s office.
http://countycourier.net/2018/12/feds-dental-employees-stole-money-drugs/
Cox Sentenced to 5 years probation and restitution
Swanton woman has been sentenced to five years of federal probation for participating in a scheme to fraudulently obtain prescription painkillers.
Lindsey Cox, 37, earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring to acquire controlled substances by fraud as well as theft in connection with health care.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, between April and November 2016, while Cox was employed at a dental center in St. Albans, she conspired with another employee to generate fake prescriptions for controlled substances and forge the signature of a licensed prescriber.
Cox and others then filled the fake prescriptions — typically for Oxycodone — at several area pharmacies. Investigators identified 46 fake prescriptions altogether.
Court records show that the other employee, Tammy Larocque, had been sentenced in 2019 to two years of federal probation for possession of Oxycodone.
In addition, prosecutors said that between May 2016 and August 2017, Cox embezzled $71,900 from her employer by manipulating and falsifying payment records in the dental center’s billing software.
She pleaded guilty to those two charges in 2019.
During her sentencing at the Burlington federal courthouse on Monday, the judge ordered Cox to pay the embezzled amount as restitution to RVI Dental Center.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Albans Police Department investigated the case, together with the U.S. Border Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.
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