Prescription fraud involves obtaining, using, prescribing, or distributing prescription medications through deception, false information, or other fraudulent means. Prescription forgery involves creating, altering, using, or presenting a fake or counterfeit prescription as a way to get prescription medications illegally. Prescription fraud and forgery laws make it illegal to create, alter, or possess a fake prescription with the intent of obtaining prescription meds unlawfully. Depending on the jurisdiction, prescription fraud may be charged as a fraud, forgery, drug, or controlled substance offense. These charges can result in fines, imprisonment, and other criminal penalties.

Prescription fraud may be carried out for profit as corrupt physicians sell prescriptions or as individuals sell illegally obtained prescriptions, but it may also be carried out by those suffering from addiction in an effort to obtain drugs for personal use.

What is Prescription Fraud?

Prescription fraud is a criminal offense involving the knowing use of deception, misrepresentation, forgery, concealment, or other fraudulent means to obtain, prescribe, dispense, distribute, or possess prescription medications without the necessary lawful authorization to do so. Prescription fraud offenses often involve acts such as doctor shopping, forging prescriptions, altering prescription information, using false identities, or making false statements to healthcare providers, pharmacies, or insurers in order to get controlled substances or other prescription drugs. Some common examples of prescription fraud are listed below.

• Using a stolen physician's prescription pad
• altering a legitimate prescription in order to receive an increased quantity of a prescribed drug
• forging prescriptions
• "Doctor shopping," or visiting several doctors to receive prescriptions unbeknownst to the other physician
• Calling in one's own prescriptions and providing a personal number for callback information

Furthermore, an unscrupulous physician may sell unneeded prescriptions to "patients" looking to sell or abuse the prescription drugs. Prescription fraud in Oklahoma is a serious concern.  

Some studies show that 2-4% of the national population abuses prescription drugs.  The drugs most commonly purchased or abused in prescription fraud cases include Vicodin, Valium, Xanax, Oxycontin, and morphine.  Benzodiazepines, such as Xanax and Valium, are often used legally to treat anxiety and also work as sedatives and muscle relaxers.  

Oxycontin, Vicodin, and morphine are powerful and highly addictive painkillers. Prescription fraud is a felony drug crime in Oklahoma and may be charged    as a Federal offense. Health care providers who illegally provide prescriptions may not only face jail time and fines, but they are likely to lose their licenses to practice medicine and receive sanctions by the American Medical Association.

The Oklahoma Anti-Drug Diversion Act implemented the Oklahoma Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), overseen by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, in an effort to combat prescription drug abuse and prescription fraud.

Prescription Fraud Defense

Prescription fraud defense involves challenging the prosecution's ability to prove that the defendant "knowingly" and "intentionally" used deception, misrepresentation, forgery, or other fraudulent means to obtain prescription medications. Defense strategies for those facing charges of prescription fraud include demonstrating a lack of intent to defraud, lack of knowledge, mistaken identity, insufficient evidence, lawful authorization, or prescription errors. If you are accused of involvement in prescription fraud, it is important that you contact an experienced Oklahoma fraud lawyer as soon as possible to help with your defense.  Your attorney can thoroughly evaluate your case for the best defense strategy, whether that entails negotiating a reduced charge or sentence, defending your innocence, or challenging police procedure to demonstrate illegal search and seizure. For more information about prescription fraud defense, call today to speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Oklahoma City.