Katie Louise Boll, age 31, from Manchester, Iowa, a nurse who took hydrocodone and morphine from patients, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Boll was convicted of one count of acquiring controlled substances by misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge, and one count of tampering with a consumer product.
In a plea agreement, Boll admitted that between September 2018 and January 2019, she acquired hydrocodone prescribed for two of her patients for her own use on at least 50 occasions. Boll took the pills by swapping the hydrocodone pills for over-the-counter pills containing acetaminophen. Boll admitted that on Dec. 24, 2018, she stole a morphine oral solution that was prescribed for a hospice patient for pain management and used mouthwash to dilute the solution to hide her theft. Boll also admitted that on Dec. 29, 2018, she acquired controlled substances from ten additional patients by swapping their prescribed pain management medications for other substances. Boll further admitted she had been acquiring pain medications through fraud from hospitals and other facilities where she worked since October of 2016. Finally, Boll admitted her nursing license allowed her the ability to commit her crimes.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Boll remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Boll faces a possible maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov. The case file number is 19-CR-2044.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and investigated by Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals and the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
