A Boise nurse practitioner illegally distributed pain pills. She’ll spend time in prison
A 50-year-old nurse practitioner from Boise will spend four years in federal prison for distributing narcotics in exchange for cash, a portion of the pain drugs and other controlled substances.
Angela Kathryn Hughes was sentenced this week after she pleaded guilty to several drug crimes, U.S. Attorney for Idaho Josh Hurwit announced in a press release.
The release cited court records and said Hughes conspired with Sydney Neal, 39, and others to issue illegitimate prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances between January 2022 and March 2023. The prescriptions totaled more than 9,800 pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone, according to the release.
Hughes, who sometimes received methamphetamine as part of the payments for pills, faced charges of conspiracy to possess controlled substances and of distributing controlled substances, according to public information officer Cassie Fulghum. She pleaded guilty in May and was sentenced Tuesday.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Hughes to be placed on supervised release for three years after her prison sentence.
The U.S. attorney’s release said prescriptions for the pain pills were written and distributed “without a legitimate medical purpose” and “outside the usual course of professional practice.”
“Medical providers are supposed to take care of their patients and their community. The defendant in this case did the opposite, adding to the dangerous problem of prescription drug abuse,” said Hurwit. “I am grateful for the team of prosecutors and investigators that found out what was happening and put a stop to it.”
Neal was also paid in cash for selling the drugs and provided the proceeds to Hughes. She pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to possess controlled substances, according to Fulghum. She was sentenced to five years of probation.
“Providers who recklessly distribute controlled substances undermine efforts to address the ongoing opioid crisis and betray their professional responsibility to serve the health and well-being of the American public,” said Steven J. Ryan, the special agent in charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.
Hurwit thanked the Boise Police Department, Health and Human Services, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for working on the investigation.
