Crystal McLin Lipe, Stealing Fentanyl, Texas 2023

A Texas nurse has been found guilty of stealing fentanyl from her hospital employer in a shocking case of theft and deception.

Crystal McLin Lipe, 41, pleaded guilty to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud on July 27, 2023 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett in the Eastern District of Texas.

According to court documents, Lipe worked as a registered nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in the Eastern District of Texas. At various points during her time with the hospital, Lipe knowingly accessed and obtained fentanyl, a controlled substance under federal law, for personal use without the hospital’s authorization.

Lipe acquired the fentanyl fraudulently, by removing the fentanyl from its original vials, replacing the fentanyl with a liquid containing sodium chloride, and failing to disclose her conduct to the hospital.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Lipe faces up to 4 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentences prescribed by Congress are provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. The exact date of sentencing has not been announced.

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