Tulsa Prescription Drug Fraud Lawyer

What Oklahoma Law Treats as Prescription Drug Fraud

Oklahoma law reaches more than a forged paper prescription. A person can be accused of obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled dangerous substance through:

• fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or subterfuge;
• forgery or alteration of a prescription or written order;
• adding or changing information on a prescription or written order;
• concealment of a material fact;
• use of a false name or false address; or
• knowingly failing to disclose a controlled drug or prescription for a controlled drug of the same or similar therapeutic use received from another practitioner within the previous 30 days.

The same law also prohibits certain unauthorized conduct involving prescription forms, including manufacturing, creating, delivering, or possessing them in circumstances covered by the statute. It contains exceptions for legitimate manufacture or delivery and for a person acting as an authorized agent of a practitioner.

These are different factual theories. A case based on an allegedly altered quantity is not the same as a case based on a false name. A case involving two medical providers is not the same as an accusation that someone created a counterfeit prescription. The precise accusation determines what evidence needs to be examined.

You Can Be Charged Even If the Pharmacy Never Dispensed the Medication

Oklahoma law expressly covers an attempt to obtain a controlled drug. A pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription and the State can still file a felony charge. The absence of a completed transaction does not prevent a prosecution. It also does not prove the accusation.

When no medication was dispensed, the evidence surrounding the attempted transaction becomes especially important. What document was presented? Who presented it? What did the prescription actually say? What did the prescriber authorize? What was communicated to the pharmacist? What did the person accused of fraud know at the time? Those questions can be much more important than the simple fact that the pharmacy became suspicious.

Prescription Forgery and Altered Prescription Allegations

A forgery case may involve a prescription that police claim was created without a provider's authorization. An alteration case may involve a legitimate prescription that someone allegedly changed after it was issued. The disputed information might involve the quantity, dosage, number of refills, medication, patient information, or another part of the order.

The existence of an alteration does not establish who made it. It also does not automatically establish that the person who presented the prescription knew it had been changed. Records can be critical in sorting that out. Depending on how the prescription was created and transmitted, useful evidence can include the prescriber's medical chart, electronic prescribing history, pharmacy records, fax records, telephone communications, refill requests, surveillance video, pickup records, text messages, and statements from the people involved.

A provider's chart and a pharmacy record may also tell different parts of the story. Rob Henson looks at the underlying records rather than relying solely on a police report that simply labels the prescription fraudulent.

“Doctor Shopping” Means More Than Seeing Multiple Doctors

The phrase doctor shopping gets used loosely. Oklahoma law is more specific. Seeing more than one physician, specialist, clinic, or emergency room provider is not itself prescription drug fraud. People receive overlapping medical care for legitimate reasons, including referrals, emergencies, specialist treatment, changes in providers, relocation, insurance issues, and complicated medical conditions.

Oklahoma's prescription fraud law addresses a narrower situation. It prohibits knowingly failing to disclose receipt of a controlled drug or a prescription for a controlled drug of the same or similar therapeutic use from another practitioner within the previous 30 days when obtaining or attempting to obtain controlled medication. That makes the actual timeline important.

The records need to show what medication was prescribed, when it was prescribed, whether it involved the same or similar therapeutic use, what the patient knew, and what information was disclosed. Medical records and provider notes can also show why more than one practitioner was involved in the patient's care. A list of prescriptions by itself does not answer those questions.

Prescription Monitoring Records Can Be Important Evidence

Oklahoma's Prescription Monitoring Program records information about controlled substance prescriptions and makes that information available for authorized purposes.

Those records can help reconstruct when controlled medications were prescribed and dispensed. They do not necessarily show what a patient was told during an appointment, what information the patient gave a provider, whether office personnel made an error, or why another physician was involved in the person's care.

Rob compares prescription monitoring information with the actual medical and pharmacy records rather than treating the database as the entire case. A discrepancy can be evidence. The surrounding records still determine what the discrepancy means.

When Section 2-406 Applies

Not every prescription drug fraud case is prosecuted under the same statute. A separate Oklahoma law applies to a registrant or person applying for registration under the controlled substance laws. Among other prohibited acts, it makes it illegal for a person in that category to knowingly or intentionally acquire or obtain possession of a controlled dangerous substance through misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge.

The status of the person accused is important. This provision does not apply to someone merely because the person works in healthcare or has access to medication. When a charge is filed under this provision, Rob examines the registration issue, the precise conduct alleged, and the records associated with the controlled substance separately from an ordinary patient prescription fraud allegation.

Evidence Used in Prescription Drug Fraud Investigations

Prescription drug fraud cases tend to leave records in several places. Police or prosecutors may rely on:

• the prescription or electronic order;
• the provider's chart and prescribing history;
• pharmacy records;
• Prescription Monitoring Program information;
• telephone calls or messages involving the provider or pharmacy;
• surveillance footage;
• identification or pickup records;
• electronic account information;
• text messages or other communications; and
• statements the accused allegedly made to pharmacists, medical personnel, or police.

Those records do not always tell one consistent story. A medical office can enter information incorrectly. A pharmacy can receive incomplete information. A patient can see more than one provider without committing a crime. Someone other than the accused can alter a document. A person picking up medication for a family member is not committing prescription fraud merely by making the pickup. The question is whether the evidence connects the person accused to the specific conduct the State has charged.

Defending an Oklahoma Prescription Drug Fraud Case

The defense depends on what prosecutors claim actually happened. In an alleged alteration case, Rob examines the original prescribing information, what reached the pharmacy, who had access to the prescription, and the evidence connecting the client to the disputed change.

When the accusation involves prescriptions from different practitioners, Rob compares the dates, medications, provider notes, disclosure history, and the reason for overlapping medical care. A false name or false address allegation raises different questions. The records may need to establish what information was given, who gave it, how the person was identified, and whether the information was connected to an effort to obtain controlled medication.

A case involving prescription forms also requires close attention to authorization. Oklahoma law recognizes legitimate manufacture and delivery of prescription forms and possession by an authorized agent of a practitioner.

Constitutional issues can arise as well. If police obtained evidence through a traffic stop, a search, seizure of a phone, or an interrogation, the legality of what officers did can become part of the defense. The police report is the State's account of the investigation. Rob reviews the records and evidence behind it before deciding what the accusation actually proves.

Penalties for Prescription Drug Fraud in Oklahoma

Prescription drug fraud under Oklahoma's primary prescription fraud statute is a Class C2 felony. For a person without prior convictions that increase the sentencing range, a Class C2 felony carries up to seven years in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Oklahoma law requires at least 20% of the sentence imposed to be served before release from custody, including release to electronic monitoring. The offense also carries a fine of up to $10,000.

The registration related fraud offense discussed above is a Class C1 felony. Without a prior conviction enhancement, a Class C1 felony carries up to eight years in the custody of the Department of Corrections and requires at least 25% of the sentence imposed to be served before release from custody, including release to electronic monitoring. Prior convictions will substantially increase those sentencing ranges.

Oklahoma law also contains specific consequences for a second or subsequent violation of the prescription fraud statutes. Those provisions increase the punishment range and, in cases covered by the repeat offense restrictions, eliminate eligibility for a suspended sentence, deferred sentence, or probation.

The actual sentencing exposure has to be determined from the precise charge and the person's prior record rather than from the words “prescription fraud” alone.

Healthcare Workers and Professional Licenses

A prescription related felony charge can create concerns beyond the criminal courtroom for a nurse, physician, pharmacist, technician, or other licensed professional. The consequences are not identical across professions or licensing boards. The charge, final disposition, reporting requirements, employer policies, and rules governing the particular professional license all affect what happens outside the criminal case.

If you hold a professional license or work in a position involving controlled medication, tell your criminal defense lawyer early. Decisions made in the criminal case can affect employment or licensing issues, and those consequences are easier to evaluate before the criminal case is resolved.

What to Do If You Are Being Investigated

If a detective, pharmacy investigator, or other law enforcement officer wants to question you about an allegedly false or altered prescription, do not try to explain the case on your own. You should not answer any questions and then ask to speak with a lawyer.

Preserve records that may help reconstruct what happened. Appointment information, discharge papers, prescription bottles, pharmacy receipts, provider messages, text messages, emails, insurance communications, and other contemporaneous records may become useful. Do not delete communications or alter records after learning of an investigation.

Prescription fraud cases can develop from a relatively small number of documents and conversations. Reviewing those materials early can change how the accusation is understood.