PRESCRIPTION FRAUD

Obtaining Drugs by Fraud, Prescription Fraud, and Making a Fake Prescription

Va. Code 18.2-258.1 outlaws most conceivable ways that a person can attempt to get drugs by fraud, forgery, or deceit. Some of the common ways people commit this crime include:

Making, using, or attempting to use fake prescriptions
Using a fake name or ID to get or fill a prescription
Using fake prescription labels (for example, on pill bottles)
Stealing prescription drugs or prescriptions from an employer
Lying to a physician about one’s health in order to get a prescription

However, this law does not outlaw simply possessing a fake prescription, even if you know it’s fake.

This law also does not ban attempting to fill another person’s prescription as long as a fake ID or false information was not used.

Obtaining drugs by fraud is a felony in Virginia and comes with up to five years in prison and a six-month loss of license.

Prescription Fraud and Miscellaneous Virginia Drug Crimes Penalties

Aiding in Illegally Obtaining Prescription Drugs – Va. Code 18.2-258.2

To be guilty of aiding others in illegally obtaining prescription drugs, you must get paid for your assistance. The payment can be money, favors, or goods, but the government must prove you did it for payment.

This law also requires that you know that the drugs were being obtained illegally. A common example of this is when a pharmacist or doctor sells drugs to people without a prescription or writes a bogus prescription for money.

Call Nichols & Green to speak to a lawyer who defends prescription fraud crimes in Northern Virginia.

Mr. Nichols and Mr. Green defend hundreds of people each year in courts across Northern Virginia. At Nichols & Green PLLC, defending prescription fraud and other drug crimes is a major focus of the law firm. Not only do they have ample experience defending people charged with drug crimes like prescription fraud, but Mr. Nichols and Mr. Green are also the authors of the Virginia Drug Crimes Defense Manual.

If you have been charged with prescription fraud or any drug crime in Virginia, call Nichols & Green PLLC for a free consultation in person or over the phone by calling (703) 383-9222.

At Nichols & Green PLLC we defend drug crimes in jurisdictions all over Northern Virginia, including: