“Pharmacist Anissa Jeanne Shores abused her position as a trusted member of the medical community by diverting significant quantities of opioid based prescription drugs,” said Dan Moren, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “In order to combat the threat of opioid prescription drug addiction, which has been linked to heroin abuse, it is vital that the medical industry and the state licensing boards continue to work diligently with DEA and its federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in deterring, detecting, and investigating those individuals and groups responsible for diverting prescription drugs for non-medical purposes.”
“Prescription drug abuse is both a law enforcement and public health challenge,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “Pharmaceutical drugs taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision can be just as dangerous as using illegal drugs like heroin. I am grateful to the DEA and our law enforcement partners for the ongoing and successful efforts to curb prescription drug abuse in Minnesota. Working together, we are reducing illegal access to these highly addictive and potentially deadly drugs.”
According to the charges and documents filed in court, SHORES was employed at a pharmacy in Burnsville, Minn., as a full-time pharmacist responsible for maintaining inventory records of controlled substances. The inventory procedures included accounting for the pharmacy’s receipt of controlled substances in written logbooks and/or computer logs. The purpose of the inventories is to track all controlled substances to ensure that they are lawfully dispensed by prescription and not illegally diverted.
Beginning no later than 2011, SHORES began stealing Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Carisoprodol, and Diazepam, all controlled substances, as well as Tramadol, a non-controlled substance, from the pharmacy for her own personal use. According to her guilty plea and documents filed in court, SHORES stole approximately 67,000 dosages of controlled and non-controlled substances from the pharmacy.
According to her guilty plea, SHORES falsified the pharmacy’s written and computer logs, making it appear that the pharmacy received smaller quantities of the drugs than had actually been received. SHORES then stole the quantity of controlled substances that had been omitted from the logbooks for her own use and benefit.
This investigation was conducted by the DEA, Minneapolis/St. Paul District Office, Tactical Diversion Squad (TDS). The TDS is comprised of investigators from the DEA, FBI, FDA, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Minneapolis Police Department, and the Plymouth Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Genrich.
