WASHINGTON, Pa.,None — A Washington County veterinarian and his receptionist have been charged with diverting prescription drugs for personal use.
Narcotics agents from the attorney general's office charged John Hansell, 66, of Claysville, and his receptionist, Pamela Deems, 38, of Eighty Four, with diverting thousands of doses of pet pain medication, including tuna-scented oxycodone liquid and more than 10,000 oxycodone tablets.
Police said the two are accused of taking the drugs for their personal use.
Attorney General Tom Corbett said Hansell and Deems both wrote prescriptions for themselves under various names.
According to the criminal complaint, Deems claims to have consumed up to 60 oxycodone pills per day. During this time, Hansell allegedly wrote prescriptions for her with the understanding that she would split the pills with him, the criminal complaint said.
Corbett said that Hansell allegedly wrote a prescription in Deems' name every two weeks. Eventually, Deems began writing her own prescriptions so that she could avoid splitting the pills with Hansel, Corbett said.
Hansell is charged with two counts of prescribing a controlled substance not within the scope of a patient relationship and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Deems is charged with one count of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deceit or subterfuge and one count of criminal conspiracy.
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