Feds: Vermont Dental Employees Tammy Laroque and Lindsey Cox Obtained Drugs, Committed Steal of $71K
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Update Dec 2021 --
Lindsey Cox, who previously pled guilty, has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $71,942.60.
Here is information from the US Department of Justice website on the crime and the plea. We also note that Ms. Cox has previous convictions for petty theft and drug trafficking in Florida in 2011 as is discussed at the bottom of our narrative.
Lindsey Cox sentenced to probation and restitution
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Lindsey Cox, 37, of Swanton, Vermont, was sentenced on December 20, 2021 in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont. Lindsey Cox previously had pleaded guilty to conspiring to acquire controlled substances by fraud and theft in connection with healthcare.
United States District Judge Christina Reiss imposed a sentence of five years of probation to run concurrently on each count and ordered Cox to pay restitution to her former employer in the amount of $71,942.60.
According to Court records, Cox formerly was an employee at a dental practice in St. Albans, Vermont. Between April and November 2016, Cox conspired with another employee to generate fake prescriptions for controlled substances and forge the signature of a licensed prescriber. Cox and others then filled the fake prescriptions - which typically were for Oxycodone - at several area pharmacies. In total, investigators identified 46 fake prescriptions. In addition, between May 2016 and August 2017, Cox embezzled $71,942.60 from her employer by manipulating and falsifying payment records in the dental practice’s billing software.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Albans Police Department investigated this case, together with the U.S. Border Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies and, in particular, the work of the DEA’s drug diversion investigation as well as the St. Albans Police Department’s work to uncover Cox’s embezzlement.
Original story:
SWANTON: Federal Law Enforcement Officers arrested two local women in connection with stolen prescription pads and money from a local dental office.
According to court records, Agents arrested Lindsey Cox of Swanton on December 4th. Tammy Larocque of St. Albans was arrested the same day.
Both women are accused of obtaining oxycodone by way of fraud.
In addition, Lindsay Cox is also accused of a second count of obtaining fraudulent oxycodone, as well as one count of embezzlement.
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Editor's note -- Lindsey Cox has apparently done this before -- please see http://archive.tcpalm.com/news/st-lucie-county-pharmacy-tech-charged-with-stealing-almost-12000-pain-pills-ep-382466243-343196772.html?fbclid=IwAR0DJPS7SJzqQCNuG26Fm9m4w2DB3-1GquWNxUjh0nM92KS-zydyyXfKGDE
Clearly the dental office was unaware of this prior conviction.
The County Courier is the first news agency to report on this case.
Federal court records did not indicate how much money was missing, or the quantity of oxycodone the pair is accused of aquiring.
The pair worked at RVI Dental Center in St. Albans, according to court records.
Few details were available in the case, but the indictment for the pair indicated that the offenses dated back to at least May of 2016 and were not discovered until at least August of 2017.
According to the court records, Cox and Larocque were creating fake prescriptions by forging the signature of the doctor and filling the prescriptions at local pharmacies.
Prosecutors indicated in the indictment that there may be other people who helped with them to illegally obtain the drugs. It is unclear if more people will be charged in connection with these defendants.
It’s possible that others could be implicated and prosecuted in the course of the investigation and prosecution of these alleged crimes as prosecutors wrote
The case is being prosecuted by the Federal Prosecutor’s office in Burlington.
Both women were released on conditions, including that they do not discuss the case with anyone who may be a witness to the alleged crimes. They also must maintain or actively seek employment. Additionally, the women are prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol while out on release.
Larocque is being represented by Robert Katims. Cox is being represented by the Federal Public Defender’s office.
Content retrieved from http://countycourier.net/2018/12/feds-dental-employees-stole-money-drugs/