(DES MOINES, Iowa) A former pharmacy technician at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to tampering with fentanyl, and replacing the painkiller with another solution.
Twenty-nine-year-old Victor Van Cleave admitted to inserting a syringe with the pain-killer into himself, and replacing the fentanyl with water, in September and October of 2016.
The vials were put back into storage, and used on patients. The case prompted several lawsuits from patients who said they suffered pain because of the theft.
Van Cleave will be sentenced July 10th.
The guilty plea was announced by Marc Krickbaum, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. The case was investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley D. Price.