Wellford Woman Indicted for Forged Prescriptions

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Felicia L. Prysock, age 41, of Wellford, South Carolina, was charged in a thirty-count Indictment by a Grand Jury in Columbia for Aggravated Identity Theft, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 1028A; False Statements Related to Health Care Matters, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 1035(a)(2); and Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, § 843(a)(3).  

The indictment alleges that Prysock filled ten different prescriptions forged in the names of her children and had Medicaid pay for them.  The conduct occurred between July 2016 and April 2017.  The investigation revealed that these prescriptions were for Schedule II opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and Adderall. 

Prysock’s indictment coincides with Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week.  According to a White House press release, “approximately 64,000 Americans died last year of drug overdoses in the United States, the majority of them from opioids.  The number of infants born with opioid dependence has more than quadrupled in the past decade.  Nearly 100 Americans, on average, die each day from opioid overdoses, and overdose rates are highest among people between 25 to 54 years old, robbing so many of our young people of their potential.”

United States Attorney Beth Drake said, “Our office continues to vigorously prosecute those who deal prescription drugs to our most vulnerable citizens, many of whom suffer from debilitating addictions.”

Ms. Drake stated the statutorily mandated penalty faced by Prysock for a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 1028A is imprisonment for two years, with a potential fine up to $250,000. The maximum penalty for a violation of Title 18, United States Code, § 1035(a)(2) is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  The maximum penalty for a violation of Title 21, United States Code, § 843(a)(3) is four years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, along with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, investigated the case.  Assistant United States Attorney Winston David Holliday, Jr., of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.

The United States Attorney stated that all charges in Indictments are merely accusations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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