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Hudson Woman Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Consumer Products and Unlawfully Obtaining Controlled Substances

OCI BadgeDepartment of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of New Hampshire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 20, 2020

CONCORD - Kristina Coleman, 40, of Hudson, pleaded guilty in federal court to tampering with consumer products and unlawfully obtaining controlled substances, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today. 

According to court documents and statements made in court, Coleman worked as a pharmacy technician for a retail pharmacy chain in Nashua.  In January 2019, she agreed to deliver two prescriptions to an elderly patient, which was not part of her ordinary job responsibilities.  After the delivery, the patient checked her bottles and discovered several pills were missing from her oxycodone prescription.  Further, some of the pills in the bottle were larger and had a different imprint than the others, and were later determined to be baclofen, a non-scheduled drug indicated as a muscle relaxant and anti-spasmodic agent. Coleman admitted to law enforcement officers that she replaced some of the oxycodone in the prescription bottle with the baclofen and gave the stolen oxycodone to a friend to sell, for which she received $80.

Additional investigation revealed that Coleman had been stealing Suboxone from the pharmacy for her personal use. Coleman admitted that she had stolen a strip a day for approximately one year.   

Coleman is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2021.          

“Drug diversion and tampering with consumer products are serious crimes that can endanger the lives of patients,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “When criminals steal controlled substances and replace them with other drugs, patients are not only deprived of needed medicine but also may take a drug that they should not be taking.  In some circumstances, this can create serious medical risks.  In order to protect the health and safety of our citizens, we will not hesitate to pursue federal charges against health care workers who steal drugs from innocent victims.”

This matter was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration Diversion Control Division, and the Nashua Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.    

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Component(s):
USAO - New Hampshire
Press Release Number:
20-135

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