Monique Elizabeth Carter, Fentanyl Tampering, Florida 2022

Nurse Sentenced to Prison for Fentanyl Tampering

Jacksonville, Florida – In a shocking case of medical malpractice, Monique Elizabeth Carter, a 36-year-old registered nurse from Middleburg, has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for tampering with a consumer product, specifically, injectable fentanyl.

Carter pleaded guilty on April 13, 2022, and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan. After serving her prison sentence, Carter will serve one year of home detention as a condition of a two-year term of supervised release.

The court further ordered that Carter will be prohibited from working in any position in which she would have access to prescribed medications. This harsh punishment comes as a result of Carter’s reckless actions, which put the lives of critically ill patients at risk.

According to court documents, Carter worked in a neural intensive care unit (ICU) at a hospital in Jacksonville, where she was responsible for administering fentanyl to patients. However, instead of giving them the prescribed medication, Carter would remove the fentanyl from the syringes and replace it with saline, gluing the caps back on to avoid detection.

Carter’s actions were discovered after a hospital pharmacist examined the inventory of fentanyl and found a syringe with a tamper-proof cap missing, but with some form of foreign adhesive remaining at the tip. A second fentanyl syringe had a cap that appeared to have been glued back on.

Carter admitted to tampering with fentanyl syringes since the summer of 2021, and law enforcement investigators later found needles, saline syringes, and adhesive in her bag. This case is a stark reminder of the dangers of medical malpractice and the importance of holding healthcare professionals accountable for their actions.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office – Pharmaceutical Diversion and Designer Drug Unit attached to the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.

Carter’s sentence serves as a warning to healthcare professionals who engage in similar reckless behavior. The public has a right to expect the highest level of care from medical professionals, and those who fail to meet this expectation will be held accountable.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime

Matthew McCollum, Drug Distribution Resulting in Death, Pennsylvania 2018

Jul 5, 2018

Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime

Dwight Wayne Jordan, Gun and Narcotics Trafficking, California 2018

Nov 28, 2018

Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime

Jerry Alan Reis, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, Washington 2014

Jan 29, 2015

Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime

Shakespeare Cruz, Drug Trafficking Conspiracy, New York 2014

Jan 24, 2022