Jacqueline Brewster, a 54-year-old nurse from Belfry, Kentucky, has admitted to obtaining controlled substances by fraud and wrongfully disclosing health information. On December 11, 2024, she pleaded guilty to these charges in Beckley, West Virginia.

Court documents reveal that Brewster accessed patient health information at Raleigh General Hospital in Beckley to divert hydromorphone for personal use. Employed as a travel nurse from September 2021 to February 2022, Brewster used her biometrics to access controlled substance dispensing machines. She would start the checkout process for hydromorphone under the guise of patient need, siphon off some of the drug for herself, dilute the remainder with another substance, and return it.

Brewster confessed to accessing health information unlawfully on February 1, 2022. Her scheme involved multiple diversions of hydromorphone during her employment at the hospital without legitimate medical reasons.

Her sentencing is set for April 4, 2025. She faces up to 14 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Will Thompson who praised the U.S. Food & Drug Administration–Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) Metro Washington Field Office's investigation and assistance from detectives with the West Virginia State Police and Kentucky State Police.

United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing while Assistant United States Attorney Owen Reynolds is handling prosecution duties.

This case forms part of a nationwide law enforcement operation targeting healthcare fraud and controlled substance abuse schemes involving $2.75 billion in alleged false billings. The government seized over $231 million in cash and assets related to these cases.

For more details or court documents related to this case (Case No. 5:24-cr-104), visit PACER or check the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of West Virginia.