SEPTEMBER 2023:
U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Yankton woman convicted of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge.
Lisa Merrigan, age 55, was sentenced to two years of probation and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
The conviction stemmed from incidents between June 19, 2021, and September 11, 2021. Merrigan, worked as a registered nurse at a hospital in Chamberlain, South Dakota, during that time period. Merrigan tampered with a vial of fentanyl citrate for injection properly stored within the hospital, by removing the fentanyl citrate for injection from the vial and replacing the majority of it with saline solution. Merrigan then returned the tampered vial to storage, knowing that the diluted fentanyl citrate for injection could be dispensed to surgical patients at the hospital. Fentanyl citrate is a Schedule II controlled substance that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use to relieve severe pain during and after surgery. The fentanyl in the tampered vial was so diluted that had the vial been dispensed to a surgical patient, the pain management would have been minimal or unsuccessful.
This case was investigated by the FDA, Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.
OCTOBER 2022:
A Yankton woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Tampering with Consumer Products and two counts of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge.
Lisa Merrigan, age 54, pleaded not guilty.
Counts one and two of the Indictment allege that on August 23, 2021, and September 7, 2021, Merrigan, who was working as a registered nurse in a hospital, tampered with vials of fentanyl citrate for injection stored inside the hospital’s Omnicell machine by removing the fentanyl citrate from the vials and replacing them with another liquid, knowing that the diluted fentanyl citrate could be dispensed to patients at the hospital. Counts three and four of the Indictment allege that on August 23, 2021, and September 7, 2021, Merrigan knowingly and intentionally acquired and obtained fentanyl citrate, a Schedule II controlled substance, for injections by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and up to $400 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
The investigation is being conducted by the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.
Merrigan was released on bond pending trial.
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