BOSTON — In a shocking turn of events within the healthcare industry, Michael Langlois, 49, from Dracut, has pleaded guilty in federal court for diverting liquid morphine intended for hospice patients at a Lowell nursing home.
Langlois admitted to taking the potent pain medication for personal use and replacing it with saline or Benadryl. This resulted in his elderly patients receiving less effective doses of their prescribed medications, putting them at increased risk of discomfort and suffering.
The disgraced nurse, who was working as a registered nurse at the time, faces serious charges. He pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product and one count of acquiring a controlled substance by deception and subterfuge. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 6, 2019.
The offense occurred on Nov. 16, 2016, at a Lowell nursing home, where Langlois tampered with bottles of liquid morphine prescribed for two hospice patients. He also admitted to diverting morphine from a bottle intended for a patient at a Melrose nursing home around April 3, 2017.
The severity of the charges against Langlois is evident in the potential penalties he faces: no greater than 10 years in prison for tampering and four years for acquiring a controlled substance. The sentences will be determined by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf, based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case has been prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Callahan of the Healthcare Fraud Unit, with support from various agencies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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