Tampering with Morphine Leads to Charges
A shocking case of malpractice has unfolded in suburban Chicago, where a nurse allegedly tampered with morphine prescribed to two patients. According to a federal indictment, Sarah Diamond, 29, removed morphine from bottles and replaced it with another liquid, knowing the diluted substance would be dispensed to the patients.
The indictment alleges that Diamond, a former Assistant Director of Nursing at a Chicago-area medical rehabilitation center, tampered with the liquid morphine in August 2021 with reckless disregard and extreme indifference for the risk that the patients would be placed in danger of bodily injury.
Diamond, of Woodstock, Ill., is charged with two counts of tampering with a consumer product. Arraignment in federal court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison for each count.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Lynda M. Burdelik, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. Valuable assistance was provided by the Crystal Lake, Ill., Police Department.
“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the legitimately prescribed medication and not a diluted substance,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch. “Health care practitioners who illicitly tamper with prescription drugs will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Patients should know they are receiving proper treatment from those entrusted with their medical care,” said FDA SAC Burdelik. “We must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with medications their patients need, potentially exposing them to contaminated medical products.”
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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