CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A former medical assistant was arrested on charges she forged prescriptions. Investigators say she managed to get her hands on thousands of pain pills.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office told Channel 2's Tom Regan that Sarah Lichtenberger was passing the forged prescriptions at the pharmacy at the Kroger store off Towne Lake Parkway.
Pharmacists got suspicious and called in county drug investigators.
“One of the transactions sent up (a) red flag for one of the pharmacists," said Jay Baker, with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Lichtenberger gave pharmacists around 30 forged prescriptions. They said they came from two prescription pads that she took from the OB-GYN clinic where she worked.
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“She was forging the doctors' signatures?” Regan asked Baker.
“Yes, forging. That's part of the identity fraud she's facing, signing doctors’ signatures on those scripts," Baker said.
Drug agents say over a two-year period, Lichtenberger got her hands on 2,000 pain medication pills, including Percocet and Norco, using the forged prescriptions.
That all came to an end when a suspicious pharmacist reported her to authorities last month. They arrested her Friday and searched her home.
“They went back to the house and found 20 to 30 unsigned prescriptions, and Cobb County assisted with the execution of the warrant," Baker said.
The former medical assistant is charged with nearly 100 felonies.
“Every time she filled a prescription, she was committing for four felonies. Lots of pills over that period of time,” Baker told Regan. “We don't think she was trying to sell them or anything. We think she was using them."
Regan stopped by the doctor’s office where Lichtenberger worked to see if they had anything to say about the arrest of their former medical assistant. They had no comment.
Cox Media Group
