Nurse Practitioner Pleads Guilty to Illegally Prescribing Oxycodone

ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – A Richlands, Va., nurse practitioner, who illegally prescribed over three thousand oxycodone pills, pled guilty today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.

Gloria W. “Faye” Kennedy, 51, waived her right to be indicted and pled guilty this afternoon to a two count felony Information charging her with one count of conspiring to illegally distribute controlled substances and one count of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.

Kennedy, a licensed family nurse practitioner, illegally prescribed 3,780 (three thousand seven hundred eighty) pills of 15 mg oxycodone to her husband and others for them to redistribute and illegally use.  Her husband, Darrell Lynn Wells, pled guilty, on November 12, 2015 to conspiring to illegally distribute controlled substances.

United States District Judge James P. Jones scheduled Ms. Kennedy’s sentencing hearing for March 22, 2016.  Wells’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 8, 2016.  At sentencing, Kennedy faces up to 25 years in prison.  Wells faces up to 20 years in prison. 

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency Tactical Diversion Squad, with the assistance of the Virginia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Virginia State Police, and Tazewell Regional Drug Task Force.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Patton and Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ramseyer are prosecuting the case for the United States.