A pharmacist from Fairfield, Iowa, has admitted to the theft of prescription medications from his own pharmacy. On March 27, 2025, Bryan Paul Vander Linden, 42, pleaded guilty in a Des Moines court to charges related to the diversion of thousands of pills from the pharmacy he owned and operated.
Court documents reveal that Vander Linden's illegal activities spanned from June 2022 to at least November 2023. He acquired prescription medications from Summit Pharmacy of Iowa for personal consumption. His methods included ordering pills without recording them in the pharmacy's inventory, removing them from stock, or taking them from a controlled substance collection bin. In total, Vander Linden unlawfully obtained over 3,500 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, classified as Schedule II controlled substances, and more than 400 carisoprodol pills, a Schedule IV muscle relaxant.
Vander Linden is set to be sentenced on July 28, 2025, and could face up to four years in prison. The final sentence will be decided by a federal district court judge, who will consider the United States sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the guilty plea. The Drug Enforcement Administration is conducting the investigation into this case.
