On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that a Burnsville, North Carolina pharmacy manager had pleaded guilty for her involvement in a fraudulent diversion of prescription drugs and money laundering. 37-year-old Karen Ann Turner pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
The defendant was charged in relation to a scheme operated out of pharmacies in Burnsville, North Carolina and Travelers Rest, South Carolina. Turner purchased prescription drugs at a discounted price by falsely claiming that they would be used to fill prescriptions at the pharmacies she operated.
Instead, it was alleged that Turner sold the drugs at higher prices to unauthorized drug wholesalers. Some of the medications were in short supply. The defendant laundered the proceeds by transferring them through bank accounts that she controlled.
A date for Turner’s sentencing has not yet been scheduled.