Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A former nurse from Needham, Ariana Foley, was sentenced in federal court in Boston for diverting benzodiazepine medication from a hospital in the area. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris sentenced Foley to three years of probation and 100 hours of community service. In November 2025, Foley pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances by fraud, deception, and subterfuge.
Foley began working as a nurse at a Boston-area hospital in December 2018. On July 16, 2022, while working an overnight shift in the intensive care unit with an intubated and immobile patient, she checked out a bag of Versed—a controlled substance and benzodiazepine—as well as three bags of fentanyl. One fentanyl bag was discarded after it began leaking. None of these medications were entered into the patient’s medical records.
During her shift, Foley was found slumped over against the wall in the patient's room after an emergency alarm sounded. Hospital administrators questioned her and discovered three syringes in her pocket.
The sentencing announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations; and Dr. Robert Goldstein, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mackenzie Queenin and Meghan Cleary from the Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
