Chicago Pharmacy Technician Sentenced to a Year in Federal Prison for Stealing Opioids and Selling Them for a Profit

CHICAGO — A former technician at a Chicago pharmacy has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for stealing thousands of pills of Hydrocodone and selling them for a profit.

JACQUELINE GREEN worked at Allcare Discount Pharmacy, located in the 2700 block of West North Avenue in Chicago.  From October 2015 to December 2017, Green and a co-defendant, ELIZABETH CRUZ, conspired to steal approximately 56,108 pills of Hydrocodone and sell them outside the pharmacy for a profit.  Green and Cruz received at least $10,800 in proceeds from the sale of the stolen pills.

Green, 28, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.  U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman imposed the prison sentence Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Brian McKnight, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. 

“The opioid epidemic has devastated the lives of countless individuals through addiction and overdose,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nani M. Gilkerson argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Defendant contributed to this national crisis by helping make opiates available on the street to individuals who otherwise would not and should not have access to them.”

“Pharmacies and their employees are trusted to handle dangerous pharmaceutical medications responsibly,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Bell.  “When pharmacy employees illegally divert potent pain medications for illegitimate purposes, they put individuals and their families at risk of drug dependence and overdoses.  The DEA will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring violators to justice.”

The government was represented by Ms. Gilkerson and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rojas.

Cruz, of Stone Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the same charge as Green.  Cruz admitted in a plea agreement that she concealed the theft by falsifying the pharmacy’s inventory to make it look like the pills had either not been received from the distributor or had been dispensed to patients.  Judge Guzman set Cruz’s sentencing for Sept. 5, 2019, at 2:00 p.m.