Former Pharmacy Technician Sentenced For Stealing Narcotics
EUGENE, Ore. - Denise Richardson, 47, of Roseburg, Oregon, was sentenced to prison for stealing narcotics from the Roseburg Veteran’s Affairs Hospital. Richardson is a former pharmacy technician at the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital. Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken sentenced Richardson to 24 months in prison and ordered her to pay restitution in the amount of $23,475 the amount the VA spent purchasing the narcotics.
After an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Richardson was charged with theft of government property for stealing the narcotics. Sentencing documents noted that Richardson had been a pharmacy technician for approximately 18 years and had access to pharmaceuticals including controlled narcotics like Oxycontin, Oxycodone, and (Ambien).
The defendant discovered a way to manipulate the system used to track and dispense narcotics at the VA hospital and used it to divert drugs for her personal use and to provide to friends and/or family. Based on review of the pharmacy records, from approximately January 2010 until June 2011, defendant stole over 6000 pills of Oxycodone, Clonazepam, Zolpidem and Oxycontin from the VA pharmacy that cost the VA $23,475. The narcotics had a street value of approximately $250,000.
