Former hospice nurse Erin Linvog of Anacortes, Washington, was sentenced to one year in federal prison today for tampering with consumer products and acquiring a controlled substance by fraud or misrepresentation. The 34-year-old pleaded guilty in April 2013 after stealing morphine from the Fidalgo Care Center & Rosario Assisted Living.
According to U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan, Linvog’s actions showed reckless disregard for patients’ pain management and the risk of overdose. The nurse admitted she removed liquid morphine from medicine bottles, replaced it with tap water, and returned the tampered bottles to the facility’s carts.
U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones criticized Linvog’s behavior, stating that her actions violated every expectation of a nurse’s duty. The judge pointed out that Linvog only stopped when caught, despite the potential harm to patients in end-of-life care.
The plea agreement detailed how Linvog’s thefts meant that terminally ill patients received inadequate pain medication, while medical staff had no clear understanding of actual dosages due to the diluted morphine. This posed a risk for overdoses and unnecessary suffering.
Deborah Kelly, daughter of one of Linvog’s patients, expressed her sorrow at placing trust in the nurse: “My mom in her last month of life was suffering tremendously… The last year and a half I have been kicking myself that I trusted (Linvog) to be a better person than she was.”
Prosecutors requested a 30-month sentence, emphasizing Linvog’s egregious offense against highly vulnerable patients. Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Masada and Jerrod Patterson prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the Anacortes Police Department.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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