FRANKFORT, KY (Tuesday, December 17, 2024) – A Lexington, Ky., woman, Abigail Hall, 51, pleaded guilty on Monday, before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, to tampering with a consumer product.
According to her plea agreement, between January 2023 and August 2023, Hall worked as a contract registered nurse at several facilities in Kentucky, including a health care facility in Lawrenceburg, Ky., that focused on care for the elderly and infirm. Then, on August 27, 2023, Hall took morphine that had been prescribed for three patients that she was treating at the healthcare facility, all of whom had significant disease and pain concerns. Hall replaced the stolen morphine with water and blue food coloring, to resemble the real medication. Ultimately, Hall took at least seven syringes of stolen morphine and administered the tampered morphine to one of the patients.
“Instead of actually caring for the patients in her charge – patients who needed their pain medication – she stole their medicine and even administered fake medicine to one of them,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “Her conduct was as disgraceful as it was deceptive and callous. Fortunately, through the hard work of our law enforcement partners, she will now face the consequences of her profound betrayal.”
“Patients suffering from pain trust their health care providers to provide relief through effective and appropriately dosed medications,” said Special Agent in Charge George A. Scavdis, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Metro Washington Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who violate their position of trust and jeopardize patients’ health and well-being by tampering with their pain medications.”
United States Attorney Shier and Special Agent in Charge Scavdis, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by FDA-OCI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Smith is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
Hall is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. She faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and may be ordered to pay restitution and fines. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court, after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
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