Doctor’s Office Manager Reportedly Admits to Obtaining Fraudulent Narcotics Prescriptions

An Urbandale woman reportedly told authorities that she had been calling in fraudulent hydrocodone prescriptions from the West Des Moines doctor’s office where she works for more than five years before a pharmacy employee notified the Iowa Board of Medicine of suspicious activity.

The employee, Suzanne Elizabeth Nicholson, 47, faces charges that include fraudulently obtaining prescriptions for scheduled narcotics, including hydrocodone, according to a report on file at the West Des Moines Police Department.

Hydrocodone is prescribed for pain management associated with more drug abuse than any other legal or illegal opioid, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Authorities involved in the investigation included West Des Moines Police Officer Chris Morgan, Urbandale Police Detective Matt Flattery of the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement (M.I.N.E.) task force, and James L. Machamer, an investigator with the Iowa Board of Medicine.

Machamer reportedly said that pharmacy workers at a Clive Walgreen’s noticed an unusual number of prescriptions written to Nicholson by a doctor at the West Des Moines Children’s Clinic, where Nicholson is the office manager. The physician reportedly told the investigator that he had not authorized the prescriptions.

During questioning, Nicholson reportedly admitted “she has an addiction problem and had been calling prescriptions for herself for more than five years,” Morgan wrote in his report. She also reportedly said that she had obtained prescriptions using other office employees’ names.

Nicholson was arrested Feb. 13 and booked at the Polk County Jail. She has since been released.