Former Jacksonville Beach Doctor’s Office Employee Pleads Guilty To Opioid Distribution Conspiracy

Jacksonville, Florida – Rhiannon Rader (34, Fern Park) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone, and alprazolam (also known as Xanax). She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, as an employee in a Jacksonville Beach physician’s office, Rader had access to her employer’s prescription pad. Without her employer’s knowledge, Rader sold fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and Xanax to drug dealers. She also filled fraudulent prescriptions for drugs in her own name.

Pharmacy records show that between March and September 2016, in Duval and Nassau Counties, 44 different pharmacies filled approximately 116 fraudulent prescriptions for 46 individuals who were not actually patients of Rader’s employer.  Records from multiple pharmacies show that on certain occasions, when pharmacy employees called the physician’s office to confirm whether such prescriptions were genuine, Rader falsely confirmed that the prescriptions were legitimate.

As part of her guilty plea, Rader admitted that her actions resulted in the illegal distribution of nearly 7,000 doses of controlled substances.

Rader is the eighth member of this drug distribution ring to plead guilty in federal court. Christopher John Bates (27, Nassau County), Christopher Lee Calhoun Jr. (24, Fernandina Beach), Christopher Oquendo Martinez (27, Baldwin, Georgia), Otis Kirkland (32, Jacksonville), Reginald Ray (33, Jacksonville), LaRhonda Lukes (31, Jacksonville), and Jon’quill Holmes (30, Jacksonville) have previously pleaded guilty for their involvement in this case.

This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Coolican.