FARMINGTON – A local woman pleaded guilty to two felony counts in Franklin County Superior Court today, after admitting to utilizing her position at a local doctor’s office to make up patients, falsify prescriptions and unlawfully acquire more than 4,000 pills.
Rhonda Lynn Drake, 43, of Farmington, pleaded guilty to acquiring drugs by deception and forgery, both Class C felonies. She was sentenced to a suspended, two-year prison sentence tied to two years of probation with drug and alcohol conditions. She also will pay a $400 fine.
David Rice, a doctor of internal medicine and owner of the private practice that employed Drake, noted that the correct dispensation of prescription medication for his patients was one of the most difficult decisions doctors had to make. “When things like this happen,” he told Judge Susan Oram, “it just drives you crazy.”
Drake was employed by Rice’s practice earlier this year, when Rice was contacted by a pharmacy regarding concerns with a woman and supposed patient, “Margaret White,” who was attempting to purchase 120 hydrocodone pills. Unfamiliar with that person, Rice looked into the practice’s medical records and discovered additional, fictional patients and prescriptions. While some data had been erased by Drake, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins said Monday, registry data had been recoverable due to not being overwritten.
After cross-referencing prescriptions and patients, 43 falsified entries for non-existent patients were identified. After Rice confronted Drake with this information on March 10, Robbins said, Drake left the office and did not return. She did call a couple days later, however, and apologized for “what she had done.”
Rice later reviewed security camera footage from a pharmacy and identified Drake as the individual picking up drugs for a “Phillip Chapman.”
In court on Monday, Rice called Drake a “trusted” and “respected” employee who was “very good at her job,” which he said had made the allegations difficult to believe at first. While Rice said he did not oppose the arranged sentence or plea, he said he wanted to impress upon the court the seriousness of the theft of drugs on the practice and community. Drake had illegally obtained more than 4,000 pills, Rice said, including high-strength vicodin.
“I hope she gets the help she needs and I hope the process works,” Rice said.
Drake’s attorney, Walter Hanstein, said that Drake had progressed with her counseling, to a point where St. Mary’s Hospital’s drug treatment program wanted her to meet with newly-admitted addicts.
Drake will spend the next two years on probation, with conditions to include random searches for illegal drugs and alcohol, with a suspended, two-year sentence hanging over her head. She will also pay a $400 fine on the acquiring drugs by deception felony.
A suspended two-year sentence will be served concurrently on the forgery conviction. As part of the arranged plea, a Class A felony aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs charge was dismissed.
[Editor’s Note: The reporter and attorney Walter Hanstein are related.]
slap, slap
There is a big problem with this in Franklin County. Huge Rx narcotic addiction % population huge demand for these drugs……and those in the business of supplying it for a price find it worth the risk of being caught—fact being they don’t get caught very often. Props to the pharmacy for raising the red flag. The huge amount of drug traffic in Franklin County is a community “issue” –there is not the funding or manpower to have law enforcement or DA’s office chasing this problem to ground—-the community, businesses and employee’s that may see things that don’t “sit right” can be a huge help to curbing these crimes. Also, keep in mind, you aren’t helping an addict by helping them to hide their activities—sometimes getting “in trouble” will lead to the rehab and treatment that will be in their best health interests.
If the followed through counciling and random searches really do take place, it maybe of benefit, but I have seen a person on probation go into their office to check in and they wave their hand and tell them they can leave, as long as they saw their face.How many have seen this? They were never randomly visited at home.
Probation seems to easy. We have a big problem in Franklin County. We need to send a message to these people that if you do this you are going to jail and not just probation.
I was in shock when they read off the sentence for this woman. She was a trusted member of the metical field, was using her job to flud our streets with more then 4,000 pills, used almost 45 fake name and gets a slap on the wrist? No jail time? No real punishment? Boy that will teach people a leason. What a joke our justise system has become.
With the pill epidemic you would think that the punishment would be much worse. Completely shock and scared that the problem will never get better if everyone is just getting a slap on the wrist. That punishment is nothing to an addict or dealer!! Fine $400, street value of drugs way more. Absolutely craziness the courts need to step it up!!!!!di
Slap Slap and putting someone in jail is certainly a sign of ignorance. As the article states She was a great at her job. Its obvious that this woman has an addiction to pain medication for some medical reason and its because of this pain she became addicted. Jail does not serve a subsitute for treatment. She has paid a great price for her actions, embarassment, shame, to herself and family, loss of a career and whatever else she has been through. I say continued treatment and couseling serves her and our community more than jail. I can understand addiction and know it takes alot to overcome it. I wish her well and support her and the court in this matter. Good people make bad decisions sometimes Lets all take our own inventory if we dare
This court system has been a joke for along time.There used to be some hard judges around back in the day but no more.
Not sure I read that she was dealing drugs in this article. Sounds like she has a problem herself and is doing the necessary work to take care of it. I thank the courts for not wasting tax dollars locking up addicts. We as a society will never be able to punish our way out of the addiction problem. Tough sentences on traffickers not on those with a medical problem is the way to go.
To say the very least, according to “Maine Revised Statutes §702 Title 17-A: MAINE CRIMINAL CODE
Part 2: SUBSTANTIVE OFFENSES Chapter 29: FORGERY AND RELATED OFFENSES
§703. Forgery
A. The person falsely makes, completes, endorses or alters a written instrument, or knowingly utters or possesses such an instrument. Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime; [2001, c. 383, §75 (AMD); 2001, c. 383, §156 (AFF).] ”
“Class D: Crimes punishable by up to 364 days incarceration and a $2,000 fine”
Shouldn’t the punishment be TIMES 43 ??
Thanks
That was to say :the least!” -I just noticed that she was charged with a C class felony or two.
“Class C: Crimes punishable by up to 5 years incarceration and a $5,000 fine”
Punishment is not times 43 because she admitted that she did the crimes. Oh my!! I suppose if you’re going to be a criminal it pays to be an honest one.
WOW – this is unreal. This woman is getting off very lightly. Recently a Mt. Blue student gave a fellow student ONE vicodin pill and if convicted faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. This woman has illegally obtained more than 4,000 pills and won’t even be going to prison. Something is very wrong with our system!
After reading the post by “wow” all I can say is wow!
I agree with “wow” . People on this county commit very serious crimes and literally get away with it! What kind of message are we sending the younger generation? Go ahead and steal commit fraud and you will just get your name in the paper but won’t go to jail. Makes sense because they already know they don’t have to work either because they can still collect $ from the state. A friend of my neighbor has a daughter who is Medicare and is only 23! There is nothing wrong with her other than being lazy and making really bad choices in her life. So now WE the working class tax payers are paying for her issues. We have a serious messed up system. Judicially , and governmentally. So I’m not surprised this woman who lied cheated and stole will not be punished. She will just join the ranks of all other criminals walking the streets , lounging home waving bye to the rest of us on our way to work for minimum wage jobs trying to pay our bills the old fashioned way..
Apparently jail doesn’t cost tax payers any money. I did not know that.
I am concerned about the harsh comments for someone who obviously made a mistake and has medical or mental health issues. I agree wholeheartedly with Tom Rawlings. This lady should be helped and not punished. Keep in mind folks, there are people in our community with serious physical pain, and some of those people can’t even get the medications they need to control it. Don’t be so quick to judge someone unless you walk in their shoes. People are suffering, and she needs our prayers not condemnation.
White collar crime often goes “under-punished” because we aren’t afraid of these criminals.
The US has one of the highest incarceration and recidivism rates in the entire world. Sending addicts to jail does not prevent more crime nor does it “rehabilitate” them. To the people talking about harsher sentences ‘sending a message’ do you really honestly think that most criminals think about recent sentences before they carry through with their deeds? Come on.
Slippery Slope when we say let’s not punish, let’s get counsoling etc. Once or twice maybe. 43 times? 4000 pills? Personal use? 4000 pills, 3 years that is 3.6 pills a day every day . I hope they investigated other places she worked to confirm this wasn’t going on longer.
Be prepared for other addicts to want the same treatment/punishment.
The courts sure are allowing the distinction between law abiding citizens and criminals to become pretty gray. Make all the excuses you want, this lady could have asked for help and likely knew what she was doing was wrong.
@Oh Please, of course people think about recent sentences. Bet you slowed down like most of us when Farmington police got serious about fining speeders!
You need another Ben Butler! Not afraid of white-collar criminals? Drug dealers, INCLUDING prescription drug dealers, kill people all over this country every day! Did any die because of drugs they got from her? Does she have “friends in high places”? Seems amazingly lenient!
My oh my here again looking on the DB and still reading about an issue that is over and done with. The court has finalized this matter and had all the facts thus it made a decision and handed down a sentence. Now this woman has to abide with that sentence. She, obviously made bad choices however she did make a right choice to surrender to an addiction and is willing to combat such addiction. I commend her strenght and determination. Some stated friends in high places, I say her friends in high places are her family and friends, It takes patience, understanding and courage to face an addiction. She obiviojusly has that. People on here hide behind titles and judge, I would suppose because they dont want to reveal their names in fear of being judged themselves, I support recovery in this matter simply because she is a person. I dont see in this article where she had a record or was dealing pills. We dont know the facts however we do read the DB and yes even buy a newspaper, both display the events not the facts I would really like DB to require an honest full name prior to allowing posts then we would see some educated posts not just rants Wishing you all the best in your journey of recovery
She didn’t make the right choice to surrender to an addiction; she got caught!
Sorry Tom, This issue is not over and done with. We have a problem and when on gets off so easy that problem will not go away.
Right and wrong have nothing to do with usernames, which allow anyone to speak their minds without getting into personalities or politics, or who’s related to what perps in some way, or get personally involved with unpleasant people who disagree, as you can appreciate from another comment (hardly an “educated post.”) No muss, no fuss, allows us to discuss.
Yep, a real Mother Theresa! Something is rotten in Denmark.
When someone if forced to make a change and being closely monitored sure they may conform, for a while.
When someone decides to makes changes of their own volition, they’re more apt to stick with it.
Jail time gives one time to ponder their sick cravings and poor choices and decide if their life and the lives of others would be better if the first thing they did when they got released was seek counseling.