Baldwin Borough Woman Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining Controlled Substances and Health Care Fraud

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A Pittsburgh-area woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of fraudulently obtaining controlled substances and health care fraud, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

The two-count indictment, returned on April 25, named Heather Summerfield, 37, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the court, Summerfield obtained Tramadol, a controlled substance, through fraud by posing a representative of physicians’ offices to obtain prescriptions both in her own name and in the names of fictitious individuals without the authorization of the physicians. To the extent that she fraudulently obtained prescriptions in her own name, the indictment alleges that she committed health care fraud by causing her insurance carriers to pay for those fraudulently obtained prescriptions.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than fourteen years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.