Maryland readers are likely aware of the problem of prescription drug abuse, which is an issue across the United States. Pain pill abuse and addiction is a big enough problem that there has been sharp criticism of the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve OxyContin for sick children between the ages of 11 and 16.
With the rise in pain pill abuse, there has been an increase in the number of criminal cases involving allegations of prescription drug fraud. Prescription drug fraud often involves individuals who have access to patient information, as in the case of a Maryland woman who has been charged in connection with a prescription fraud scheme carried out in 2014.
In addition to charges of prescription drug fraud, the woman was initially charged with possession of oxycodone with intent to distribute, intent to distribute, and fraud/identity theft. What is interesting about the charges, although not that uncommon, is that some of them sound very similar: obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud, obtaining prescriptions by fraud, obtaining drugs by fraud, obtaining prescriptions by concealment, obtaining controlled dangerous substance by impersonation and fraud. Sounds a bit repetitive, doesn’t it?
Each of these charges, presumably, dealt with a slightly different aspect of the behavior being targeted. One important aim of criminal defense, though, is to do everything possible to minimize criminal charges. When criminal charges seem to be unsupported by the evidence or duplicative, it is important to explore that with an experience defense attorney.
