Pharmacy workers foil alleged pain medication prescription scam
A woman who allegedly used forged prescriptions to obtain large amounts of opiate pain medication was arrested Friday morning after quick-thinking employees of a La Cañada Flintridge pharmacy unraveled the apparent scam.
Pharmacist Sonal Patel and pharmacy technician Belle Cruz of Flintridge Pharmacy & Medical Supply said they had become suspicious of multiple prescription drug orders for a single patient last week, and after some digging surmised that the orders were coming from a fictitious medical office.
The two pharmacy workers notified the Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station, and mid-morning Friday deputies arrested 28-year-old Van Nuys resident Tina Bokazadeh after she arrived to pick up her third bottle of Norco — a derivation of the potentially addictive opiate hydrocodone — that week. Bokazadeh, who posted bail Monday, is now also being investigated in relation to similar alleged scams throughout the Los Angeles area.
Pharmacists foil alleged prescription drug scam.
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EDITOR'S PICKS:
this is the reason that many, many doctors are transmitting their patients prescriptions directly to the pharmacy rather then writing them out and giving it the patient. Cuts down on forgery. Pretty soon we'll see a state data base whereby a persons name and Licence number will be entered on specific drugs to cut down this practice.
Posted by: robert johnson | March 22, 2011 at 10:01 AM
C'mon, this isn't news. This stuff goes on at least 500 times daily in pharmacies across the United States.
Posted by: Guzzo | March 29, 2011 at 01:56 AM