Former FMC Lexington Inmate Sentenced to 28 Months for Making False Allegations against Prison Staff and Possessing Morphine

LEXINGTON, Ky. –Timothy Carl Ling, a former FMC Lexington inmate, was sentenced in federal court to 28 months in prison, by U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, for making false allegations against prison staff and illegally possessing morphine.

In his plea agreement, Ling admitted that, over the course of several months in 2016 and 2017, he knowingly made false accusations against members of FMC Lexington’s staff.  Specifically, Ling admitted to falsely alleging that a nurse provided him with an un-prescribed morphine pill, and he admitted to falsely accusing an accountant of accepting prepaid credit cards or money orders in exchange for providing contraband to inmates.  Ling’s misrepresentations wrongfully caused the staff members to be subject to internal investigations, when, in reality, they had done nothing wrong.  Related to Ling’s fraudulent accusation against the nurse, Ling admitted to illicitly purchasing an un-prescribed morphine pill from another inmate and providing it to a prison official under the guise of having obtained the pill from the nurse.

Ling admitted in his plea agreement that his motives for creating false and fictitious stories about prison staff included attempting to gain consideration for a reduction of his sentence. Instead, as a result of his false reports, Ling must now spend an additional 28 months in prison, consecutive to his prior sentence.

Under federal law, Ling must serve, at a minimum, 85 percent of his prison sentence.  He will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for three years after being released.

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and William Hannah, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) Chicago Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was directed by the DOJ OIG Chicago Field Office.  The United States was represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James T. Chapman.

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