Charges: Man Stole Hundreds Of Pain Pills From Patients

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – A man is accused stealing hundreds of pain pills from various patients at a Minneapolis facility and selling them for financial profit, according to charges filed Friday by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The man was charged with financial exploitation in connection with the incident. He was an employee at the Volunteers of America of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He admitted to law enforcement that he stole 440 pills of Percocet, a narcotic pain killer, from three patients, including one who had already died.

He stole Percocet from one patient who had been diagnosed with lung cancer, hypertension and depression. Another patient he stole from was suffering from moderate mental retardation, seizures disorder, chronic pain disorder and anxiety disorder.

When the second patient went to take her medication, she discovered that her Percocet pills had been replaced by Tylenol.

The man accused told police he took all the pills, sold them for $10 each and had enough money for a down payment on a second home. He said he took the pills over a period of three months and also stole a bottle of Percocet from a patient who had died before they were going to be destroyed. He said he sold the pills at a bar.