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MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The former chief of staff at the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center is accused of fraudulently using patient information to acquire fentanyl.

Dr. Daniel J. Bochicchio, 59, of Monkton, Md., was charged with 15 counts of acquiring fentanyl by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge, according to court records.

The June 6 indictment and Tuesday’s arrest of the anesthesiologist were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen.

Bochicchio, who served as the medical center’s chief of staff since Oct. 2, was relieved of his duties June 2 and no longer is with the Department of Veterans Affairs, medical center spokesman Mike McAleer said Tuesday.

Bochicchio allegedly obtained fentanyl multiple times between January and March by entering patient information and a specific quantity of the drug to be used in medical procedures at the medical center, court records said.

The defendant didn’t intend to administer fentanyl in the medical procedures, records said.

Fentanyl is a painkiller that is 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, and often is mixed with heroin to lower a drug dealer’s production costs.

In January 2016, the Beckley (W.Va.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center announced on its Facebook page that Bochicchio was assigned for a 90-day detail as the facility’s acting medical center director.

The announcement noted that Bochicchio is board certified in anesthesiology and critical-care medicine, and has more than 25 years of commissioned service in the Army National Guard.

His service included five years on the National Guard Bureau Joint Staff, where he served as the first joint staff surgeon.

Bochicchio had been caring for veterans for more than 10 years as an attending physician at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

He also is a longtime faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General is investigating.