Fairfield Man Pleads Guilty to Prescription Drug Diversion

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Fairfield pharmacist pleaded guilty on March 27, 2025, to stealing thousands of prescription pills from a pharmacy he owned and operated.

According to public court documents, Bryan Paul Vander Linden, 42, admitted that from June 2022 to at least November 2023, he obtained prescription pills from Summit Pharmacy of Iowa for his own use. To obtain the pills, Vander Linden would order and not report the pills in the pharmacy’s inventory, take from the pharmacy stock, or take pills from the controlled substance collection bin. In total, Vander Linden obtained more than 3,500 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, Schedule II controlled substances, and more than 400 carisoprodol pills, a Schedule IV muscle relaxant.

Vander Linden is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2025 and faces a potential sentence of up to four years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the United States sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating this case.