Feds: Vermont Dental Employees Tammy Laroque and Lindsey Cox Obtained Drugs, Committed Steal of $71K
Home > Hall of Shame > Feds: Vermont Dental Employees Tammy Laroque and Lindsey Cox Obtained Drugs, Committed Steal of $71K
Update Dec 2021 --
Lindsey Cox, who previously pled guilty, has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $71,942.60.
Here is information from the US Department of Justice website on the crime and the plea. We also note that Ms. Cox has previous convictions for petty theft and drug trafficking in Florida in 2011 as is discussed at the bottom of our narrative.
Lindsey Cox sentenced to probation and restitution
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Lindsey Cox, 37, of Swanton, Vermont, was sentenced on December 20, 2021 in United States District Court in Burlington, Vermont. Lindsey Cox previously had pleaded guilty to conspiring to acquire controlled substances by fraud and theft in connection with healthcare.
United States District Judge Christina Reiss imposed a sentence of five years of probation to run concurrently on each count and ordered Cox to pay restitution to her former employer in the amount of $71,942.60.
According to Court records, Cox formerly was an employee at a dental practice in St. Albans, Vermont. Between April and November 2016, Cox conspired with another employee to generate fake prescriptions for controlled substances and forge the signature of a licensed prescriber. Cox and others then filled the fake prescriptions - which typically were for Oxycodone - at several area pharmacies. In total, investigators identified 46 fake prescriptions. In addition, between May 2016 and August 2017, Cox embezzled $71,942.60 from her employer by manipulating and falsifying payment records in the dental practice’s billing software.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Albans Police Department investigated this case, together with the U.S. Border Patrol and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies and, in particular, the work of the DEA’s drug diversion investigation as well as the St. Albans Police Department’s work to uncover Cox’s embezzlement.
Original story:
SWANTON: Federal Law Enforcement Officers arrested two local women in connection with stolen prescription pads and money from a local dental office.
According to court records, Agents arrested Lindsey Cox of Swanton on December 4th. Tammy Larocque of St. Albans was arrested the same day.
Both women are accused of obtaining oxycodone by way of fraud.
In addition, Lindsay Cox is also accused of a second count of obtaining fraudulent oxycodone, as well as one count of embezzlement.
Cases Like This Are Far More Common Than Most Dentists Realize.
Most dental embezzlement goes undetected for years—and the average loss is in the tens of thousands of dollars. Prosperident's First Look Financial Review can tell you right now whether your practice has a problem.