Florida Licensed Nurse Arrested for Stealing Pain Medication, Doctor Shopping

Medication allegedly stolen from 92-year-old amputee

TALLAHASSEE, FL, July 27, 2007 - Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Jackson County nurse was arrested and charged with multiple criminal charges, including criminal neglect of an elderly or disabled adult and obtaining a controlled substance by deception. Authorities with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office arrested Mitchell Harrison Nobles, 28, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) who was formerly employed by a nursing facility in Marianna.

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“Caretakers should be prosecuted and punished under the law for taking advantage of those individuals who rely on them for their basic needs and daily care,” said Attorney General McCollum.

Investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating Nobles in January after receiving information about possible neglect and theft of patient medication from the Florida Department of Health. The investigation revealed that during his employment at Marianna Health & Rehabilitation Center, Nobles was responsible for the administration of medication to the facility’s elderly and disabled residents. Authorities believe that Nobles stole prescription pain medication intended for a 92-year-old amputee and attempted to re-label the old medication, thus disguising its need for replacement. To conceal his theft, Nobles then fraudulently altered the patient’s medical records to reflect that he administered the new medication.

During the course of the investigation, investigators uncovered evidence that Nobles was engaged in a practice known as “doctor shopping,” the unlawful practice of visiting multiple physicians for treatment of the same condition in order to receive multiple prescriptions for controlled substances. As a result of the investigation by the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Nobles relinquished his LPN license and will not be permitted to reapply for licensure as an LPN in the State of Florida.

Nobles is charged with one felony count of obtaining possession of a controlled substance by deception or subterfuge, one felony count of neglect of an elderly or disabled adult, and nine felony counts of doctor shopping. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Nobles also faces one misdemeanor charge for fraudulently altering or falsifying a medical record. The misdemeanor charge is punishable by up to 60 days imprisonment. The case will be prosecuted by the State Attorney's Office for the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit.

Source: State of Florida