Tea Woman Sentenced for Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Tea, South Dakota, woman convicted of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge. The sentencing took place on May 24, 2024.

Brittany Enstad, age 40, was sentenced to two years of probation and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Enstad was indicted by a federal grand jury in June of 2023. She pleaded guilty on March 6, 2024.

The conviction stemmed from incidents between July 1, 2022, and December 30, 2022, when Enstad, who was working at a registered nurse at the Sanford Canton-Inwood Medical Center in Canton, South Dakota, obtained blister packs from the narcotics cabinet containing OxyContin, removed the OxyContin, and replaced the drug with other medications, such as melatonin and acetaminophen. Enstad then resealed the blister packs knowing that the other medications could be dispensed to patients at the medical center instead of OxyContin. Enstad used the stolen OxyContin for her own use.

“Patients deserve to have confidence that they are receiving the proper treatment from those entrusted with providing their medical care. Those who knowingly tamper with medicines for patients put those patients’ health at risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office. “Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who take advantage of their position and compromise patients’ health and comfort by tampering with needed drugs.”

This case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration – Office of Criminal Investigation and the DEA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.