Former medical practice manager pleads guilty to obtaining prescription opioids by fraud

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Nicholas County woman who issued herself prescriptions without authorization from a doctor pleaded guilty today, announced Acting United States Attorney Carol Casto. Cary Lynn Eades, 47, of Mount Nebo, entered her guilty plea to obtaining the prescription opioid pain medication tramadol by fraud.

On numerous occasions between January 2012 and March 2015, Eades took advantage of her position as a medical practice manager to issue herself prescriptions for tramadol using the names and DEA registration numbers of doctors for whom she worked. Eades filled prescriptions at pharmacies in Nicholas, Fayette, and Kanawha counties. The Central West Virginia Drug Task Force became involved in February 2015 when one of the medical practices reported suspicious prescriptions being issued to Eades.

Eades was indicted in Fayette and Nicholas counties in 2015 on more than 30 felony counts of obtaining a prescription by fraud. Her guilty plea in federal court reflects a consolidation of those charges as well as potential charges in Kanawha County.

Eades faces up to four years in federal prison when she is sentenced on September 26, 2016.

This case was investigated by the Central West Virginia Drug Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is in charge of the prosecution. The plea hearing was held before United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.

This prosecution is part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs and heroin. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of pills and heroin in communities across the Southern District. 

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