Two Chicago Pharmacy Technicians Indicted for Stealing Opioids and Selling Them for a Profit

CHICAGO — Two technicians at a Chicago pharmacy stole more than 56,000 pills of Hydrocodone and sold them for a profit, according to an indictment returned in federal court in Chicago.

ELIZABETH CRUZ and JACQUELINE GREEN worked at Allcare Discount Pharmacy, located in the 2700 block of West North Avenue in Chicago.  From September 2015 to December 2017, the pair conspired to steal approximately 56,108 pills of Hydrocodone and sell them outside the pharmacy for a profit, the indictment states.  Cruz and Green concealed the scheme by falsifying the pharmacy’s inventory to make it look like the pills had either not been received from the distributor or were dispensed to patients, according to the charges.

The indictment charges Cruz, 33, of Stone Park, and Green, 27, of Chicago, with conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.  Both defendants were arrested on Aug. 9, 2018.  Detention hearings are scheduled for today at 3:00 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez in Chicago.

The indictment 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 government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nani M. Gilkerson.

“Diversion of opioids contributes to addiction and illegal drug sales in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.  “Pharmacy employees who divert prescription drugs for their own profit will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

“This investigation illustrates that the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will bring to justice those responsible for the theft and diversion of controlled substances, not only on the street, but also in pharmacies,” said Special Agent-in-Charge McKnight.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.  The public is reminded that charges are not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.