LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Crestwood nurse anesthetist who stole pain medication from seriously ill patients has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison.
Matthew Ryan Elkins, 41, was sentenced Monday after pleading guilty to tampering with consumer products, acquiring a controlled substance through fraud and burglary involving controlled substances, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
Prosecutors said Elkins worked as a contract nurse anesthetist at a Louisville pain treatment center, where patients with cancer, spinal injuries, brain injuries and other severe illnesses relied on implanted pain pumps after other treatments had failed.
Elkins admitted stealing narcotics from prefilled syringes intended for patients about twice a week for at least three months. Investigators said he kept the drugs for his own use and refilled the syringes with sodium chloride before returning them to the clinic's safe.
Patients unknowingly received diluted medication, resulting in severe pain, sickness and withdrawal symptoms, according to prosecutors.
In addition to his prison sentence, Elkins was ordered to pay a $15,000 fine, serve three years of supervised release and surrender his Kentucky nursing licenses.
"Matthew Elkins abused the trust of his patients and this community by stealing essential medications from vulnerable victims, tampering with their medications to avoid detection, and causing them severe injury," U.S. Attorney Kyle Bumgarner said.
There is no parole in the federal prison system.
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