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A Gilbert woman pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday in what officials said is the largest pharmacy theft in West Virginia history.
Marcia Evans, 60, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, Suboxone, before U.S. District Court Judge David A. Faber.
She faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced on Oct. 2.
As part of her plea agreement, Evans admitted to taking part in what the State Board of Pharmacy called the “largest pharmacy theft in West Virginia since records have been maintained by the Board,” according to a news release issued by U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart.
Evans was previously employed as a pharmacy technician at the Riverside Pharmacy in Gilbert from 2014 to September 2016. During that time, she is accused of conspiring to take Suboxone and Xanax from the pharmacy’s supply.
According to the news release, Evans tried to conceal a shortage by manipulating the controlled substance count in the pharmacy’s computers.
The pharmacy later performed an audit, discovering a shortage of more than 23,000 doses of Suboxone and more than 137,000 Xanax pills, according to the release.
Evans allegedly admitted to selling off some of the Suboxone she stole to Kimberly McCoy, her alleged co-conspirator.
McCoy preciously pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining Suboxone by fraud. She faces up to four years in prison when she is sentenced on Aug. 29.
Faber is presiding over the hearings and the cases are being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Haley Bunn.
The guilty pleas are the result of investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Opioid Fraud Abuse and Detection Unit, according to the release.
The program works to identify and prosecute people directly contributing to the national opioid epidemic. The Southern District of West Virginia is one of 12 districts nationally to participate in the pilot program.