Scott County, IN—The Office of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) has filed criminal charges in two counties following its investigation of a nurse who admitted diverting pain medications intended for hospice patients for her personal use.
The nurse, Jennifer L. Daniel, 40, of New Albany, also admitted forging prescriptions for hydrocodone for herself, which she subsequently filled in Clark County.
In Clark County, Daniel faces felony charges of interference with medical services; forgery; and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, deceit or subterfuge. In Scott County, she faces a felony charge of interference with medical services. Prosecutors in those counties gave the MFCU permission to proceed with the prosecution pursuant to a provision of Indiana law designed for that purpose. The same investigation also led to felony charges being filed by the Floyd County Prosecutor’s Office. “Health care professionals are trusted to deliver the medication that patients need to treat their conditions,” Attorney General Curtis Hill said. “When that trust is violated, there must be consequences.”
Daniel was licensed as a registered nurse in Indiana on March 13, 2015. She was terminated from Southerncare Hospice in New Albany for failing to follow the procedure. Her license currently remains active.
