Attorney General Joseph A. Foster announces that Stephanie Russell of Salisbury, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on July 14, 2014 to one misdemeanor count of dealing in or possessing a prescription drug. Between January 1, 2013 and October 4, 2013, while Ms. Russell was working as a licensed medication nursing assistant at Saint Ann Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Dover, she gave a resident of the nursing center a quantity of the drug lorazepam, which came from Ms. Russell's personal prescription. Under RSA 318-B:42, it is illegal for anyone who is not a licensed pharmacist in a registered pharmacy to dispense any prescription drug.

Ms. Russell received a sentence of twelve months at the House of Corrections, with all but nine days suspended for three years conditioned on good behavior, compliance with all orders from the Department of Health and Human Services and the New Hampshire Nursing Board, and meaningful participation in any counseling, treatment and educational programs as directed by the correctional authority.

The case was prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which investigates both health care provider fraud and allegations involving abuse and neglect of nursing home residents.