Case Result: Nurse Can Continue to Practice After Charges for Healthcare Fraud, Drug Possession, Unlawful Prescribing Are Resolved

Professional:
Nurse

Primary Issue:
A nurse was charged with obtaining drugs by fraud, health care fraud, identity theft, and possession of narcotics, on allegations of prescribing drugs to herself amounting to thousands of units of hydrocodone and other narcotics. A criminal conviction would have resulted in her incarceration for up to five years and loss of her nursing license. With overwhelming evidence in the case against us, the goal remained to get the best deal for the nurse as possible.

Through a series of tough negotiations with the prosecutor and by portraying a strong defensive position, we were successful in dismissing four of the five counts and obtaining diversion pursuant to MCL 333.7411. Under this statute, a person who pleads guilty to possession or use of a controlled substance can receive complete probation; once probation is completed, the court will dismiss the charge with no resulting criminal conviction. This means that our client can continue to practice as a nurse and will not be excluded from billing Medicare/Medicaid.

Result:
After successful completion of the MCL 333.7411 program, the nurse will have no criminal conviction on her record. The nurse was able to maintain employment through this process and her nursing license was never suspended. We were able to resolve these significant charges without exposure to a criminal conviction or any time in jail. Considering the evidence, this was an overwhelming victory for the client.

Areas of Law:
Nursing License Defense
Criminal Defense
Unlawful Prescribing
Healthcare Fraud

Disclaimer:
This information is a sample of our past results. Prospective clients may not obtain the same or similar results. Every case is different and each case must be evaluated and handled on its own merits. The circumstances of your case may differ from the results provided. The information provided has not been reviewed or approved by the State Bar.