St. Louis, MO - PATRICIA HOEHN allegedly wrote prescriptions for hydrocodone for three different people representing that they were prescribed by a licensed medical doctor. She is also charged with attempting to destroy her cellular telephone so that investigators could not find information about her diversion of these controlled substances.
Hoehn, Farmington, MO, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by forgery, three felony counts of making false statements relating to a health care matter, one felony count of fraud with identification documents and one felony count of attempting to destroy a cellular telephone to impair official proceeding. She is expected to appear in federal court today.
If convicted, these charges carry penalties ranging from 4 to 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
