FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Agents Catch Doctor Who Poisoned Patients with Tainted IV Bags
By: Rachael Burden, Public Affairs Specialist, Office of Inspections & Investigations
When medical professionals exploit their positions of trust to deliberately harm patients, the consequences can be devastating—and justice must be swift and decisive. Such was the case of Raynaldo Riviera Ortiz Jr.—a Dallas anesthesiologist whose tampering with IV bags led to multiple cardiac emergencies and a death. Thanks to the rapid response and meticulous investigation by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), Ortiz was convicted and sentenced to 190 years in federal prison. This case underscores OCI’s critical role in safeguarding the public health.
Protecting Public Health Through Law Enforcement
Nested in the FDA Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII), OCI operates at the intersection of public health and law enforcement. OCI’s mission is to protect the American public by investigating serious violations involving the myriad of products the FDA regulates. With 200 special agents covering all 50 states and Puerto Rico, OCI works closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement and public health agencies to detect and disrupt those who misuse or peddle fraudulent FDA-regulated products for criminal purposes.
OCI’s Swift Response
On August 24, 2022, FDA received a complaint from Tenet Healthcare, which operates Baylor Surgicare North Dallas. The complaint described unexplained cardiac emergencies occurring during routine surgeries. During these routine surgeries, the patient’s blood pressure suddenly skyrocketed, requiring the surgical team to stop the operation and use emergency medications and equipment to stabilize the patient. In August 2022, doctors began to suspect that tampered IV bags were the sources of the emergencies when an 18-year-old patient was rushed to the intensive care unit in critical condition during a routine sinus surgery.
Upon receiving the complaint, OCI special agents from the Dallas Resident Office immediately sprang into action. They contacted Baylor Surgicare administrators, secured initial evidence, and mapped out a strategy to uncover the source of the tampering and prevent further harm.
Uncovering the Scope of the Crime
Time was of the essence as patient’s lives were on the line. OCI agents worked tirelessly to identify the perpetrator. They began by identifying over 250 personnel with access to the facility and carefully reviewed surveillance footage.
Within weeks, agents uncovered incriminating evidence and pinpointed Ortiz as the prime suspect. Surveillance footage showed Ortiz retrieving IV bags from a warmer, concealing them, and placing them back for use during surgeries. Testing of the IV bags showed that the fluid from the IV bag attached to the patient had been injected with dangerous drug cocktails, including bupivacaine (a nerve-blocking agent), epinephrine (a stimulant), and lidocaine (an anesthetic)–none of which should have been present. Forensic analysis also confirmed the presence of a needle puncture.
As the agents dug deeper, they identified a pattern. Between May and August 2022, agents uncovered at least five separate incidents in which Ortiz tampered with IV bags. The tampering had devastating consequences. Multiple patients suffered cardiac emergencies. All of the patients miraculously survived, but, tragically, another anesthesiologist who worked at the facility died within minutes of administering an IV bag on herself for dehydration. The investigation also revealed Ortiz’s possible motive: to sabotage surgeries being performed by his colleagues in order to divert attention away from an alleged medical mistake he made in one of his own surgeries, for which he was under investigation and facing potential loss of his medical license. OCI special agents arrested Ortiz on September 14, 2022—just three weeks after OCI was alerted of the tampering. His medical license was suspended, and he was detained while awaiting trial.
The Ortiz Trial, Verdict, and Sentence
The evidence presented at trial, which was collected by OCI, was damning. Witness testimony, surveillance footage, and forensic analysis painted a chilling picture of Ortiz’s depraved actions. It showed how he violated his Hippocratic oath to “first, do no harm” in a profound manner by deliberately inflicting pain and trauma on patients.
After an eight-day trial in April 2024, a jury convicted him of four counts of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of tampering with a consumer product, and five counts of intentional adulteration of a drug.
On November 20, 2024, he was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 190 years in federal prison. Chief Judge Godbey found that Ortiz caused the death of his colleague and called his other actions “tantamount to attempted murder.”
Several victims and their families gave victim impact statements at Ortiz’s sentencing. They told the court about the “life-altering” pain they endured. One victim shared that his 10-year-old son no longer trusts doctors, because “a doctor tried to kill Pops.” A victim who spent five days in the hospital after a cardiac incident testified that he woke up feeling “all chewed up” and has never been the same. And most tragically, the husband of the doctor who died recounted the agony of losing “the strongest woman” he had ever met, saying that the image of his wife’s “lifeless eyes” would never leave him.
A Message of Accountability
“This investigation is a clear demonstration of OCI’s commitment to investigating crimes that jeopardize the safety and health of patients,” said Justin Green, FDA Assistant Commissioner for Criminal Investigations. “This was a particularly egregious case, and I am considerably proud of our agents for bringing this criminal to justice. Thanks to their incredible work, he cannot harm another soul.”
The Ortiz case is one of hundreds of cases that OII’s OCI investigated this year. In fiscal year 2024 alone, OCI made 166 arrests, obtained 142 convictions, and secured $2.6 billion in forfeiture, fines, and restitution. Through swift actions and relentless investigations, agents uphold OCI’s sacred mission everyday: to protect public health and ensure the integrity of FDA-regulated products.