SIFFORD, SD – A South Dakota nurse is facing the music for stealing OxyContin pills from a local hospital. In a sentencing hearing on May 24, 2024, U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier handed down a two-year probation sentence to Brittany Enstad, a 40-year-old registered nurse from Tea, South Dakota.
Enstad’s crime involved obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge. The illicit activities took place between July 1, 2022, and December 30, 2022, while Enstad was employed at the Sanford Canton-Inwood Medical Center in Canton, South Dakota.
According to court documents, Enstad would remove OxyContin from blister packs in the narcotics cabinet and replace it with other medications, such as melatonin and acetaminophen. She then resealed the blister packs, knowing that the other medications could be dispensed to patients instead of OxyContin. Enstad used the stolen OxyContin for her own personal use.
The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigation and the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.
“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office. “Those who knowingly tamper with medicines for patients put those patients’ health at risk.”
Enstad also received a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. This is not the first time Enstad has faced allegations of misconduct – she pleaded guilty on March 6, 2024, after being indicted by a federal grand jury in June of 2023.
The FDA is cracking down on healthcare professionals who compromise patient health by tampering with needed drugs. This case is a prime example of their efforts to hold those accountable who abuse their position of trust.
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Key Facts
- State: South Dakota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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