A Colona, Illinois, woman was sentenced on May 28, 2025, for diverting prescription drugs from nursing and senior living facilities where she was employed as an administrator.
According to public court documents, the 40-year-old defendant obtained prescription pills from at least five healthcare facilities between at least September 2021 and November 2022. She obtained fentanyl patches, hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone by stealing them from the facility’s narcotics emergency kits and locked medication carts and rooms.
She was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $1,975.61 in restitution, a $5,000 fine, and a $200 special assessment.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (DIAL/MFCU) investigated this case.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Failure to prevent the diversion of residents’ prescribed controlled medications by staff—whether for personal use or illegal sale—may constitute abuse, neglect, misappropriation, and fraud, in violation of state and federal regulations. Staff involved in diversion can include not only direct care providers but also administrative personnel or others with access to medications. Those who divert drugs often use various methods to conceal their actions. To address this risk, facilities should implement a proactive diversion-prevention program that identifies the medications most likely to be targeted, indicators of diversion, and signs of staff impairment.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on preventing, identifying, and responding to drug diversion. Ensure they address medication security, documentation, and staff reporting, including anonymous options and protections against retaliation.
- Train appropriate staff on recognizing and responding to signs of drug diversion. Education should cover the impact of diversion on resident care—including how it constitutes abuse and neglect—legal and professional consequences, and the obligation to report concerns immediately. Training must also reinforce that staff are protected when reporting through designated channels. Med-Net Academy offers three PowerPoint training programs in our Substance Use category; visit MNA to access these resources.
- Periodically audit to ensure all controlled substances are properly documented and accounted for on each shift, and that staff understand their responsibility to report concerns promptly to their supervisor, the compliance and ethics officer, or via the anonymous hotline.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, Inc. for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*