Swanton woman sentenced for prescription fraud, embezzlement scheme

SWANTON — A Swanton woman was sentenced for prescription fraud and embezzlement on Monday.

Lindsey Cox, 37, previously had pleaded guilty to conspiring to acquire controlled substances by fraud and theft in connection with healthcare.

The judge imposed a sentence of five years of probation to run concurrently on each count and ordered Cox to pay restitution to her former employer in the amount of $71,942.60.

According to Court records, Cox formerly was an employee at a dental practice in St. Albans, Vermont.

Between April and November 2016, Cox conspired with another employee to generate fake prescriptions for controlled substances and forge the signature of a licensed prescriber.

Cox and others then filled the fake prescriptions, which typically were for Oxycodone, at several area pharmacies.

In total, investigators identified 46 fake prescriptions.

In addition, between May 2016 and August 2017, Cox embezzled $71,942.60 from her employer by manipulating and falsifying payment records in the dental practice’s billing software.