Sudbury, Ont., pharmacy worker wrote $1.5M in fake fentanyl prescriptions
Sudbury, Ont., pharmacy worker wrote $1.5M in fake fentanyl prescriptions
Sudbury, Ont., pharmacy worker wrote $1.5M in fake fentanyl prescriptions
A former employee at the Rexall Pharmacy located on Bancroft Drive in Sudbury pleaded guilty Monday to writing fake fentanyl prescriptions worth more than $1.5 million.
Lise Blanchette pled guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 and one count of fentanyl possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Blanchette was in Sudbury court Monday, where she admitted to fabricating fentanyl prescriptions between May 2016 and May 2018.
Through the phony prescriptions, she obtained 3,425 fentanyl patches with an estimated street value of more than $1.5 million.
Prosecutor Peter Keen, who appeared via Zoom from Guelph, said Blanchette impersonated doctors who work in Sudbury and filled out the prescriptions using the names of four members of her family.
Keen said video surveillance shows her entering in and paying for the prescriptions with cash.
At first, Blanchette said she was battling addiction and that she took the patches for herself. But Keen said the amount taken can't be explained by personal use, because someone taking that much would have shown signs of impairment. No one reported Blanchette as being impaired during that time.
He argued the only reasonable explanation is the drugs were acquired for the purpose of trafficking.
Blanchette was charged in December 2019. The case will return to court Wednesday when a sentencing date will be determined.
An Amber Alert issued on Monday for two Saskatchewan children has been extended into South Dakota. Saskatchewan RCMP say evidence uncovered during their investigation suggests the children may be in the U.S. state.
The man who claims to be one of the people seen 'surfing' on the roof of a moving subway train in Toronto is speaking exclusively to CTV News about his stunts and the looming threat of a police arrest.
Whether an FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence is a prelude to criminal charges is unknown. The action Monday nonetheless focuses attention on the thicket of statutes that govern the handling of government records, though the department's own history of prosecutorial discretion makes it hard to forecast with certainty what might happen this time.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years.
Serena Williams indicated on Tuesday she is preparing to walk away from her professional tennis career as the start of the U.S. Open approaches on Aug. 29 and her 41st birthday approaches next month. She would leave behind a legacy that extends beyond her dominance on the court.
The Progressive Conservative government has said that recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) will start receiving their five per cent increases in September.
An Ontario woman says she was scammed out of $11,000 after months spent working with a Texas psychic she met on TikTok following the death of her stepfather.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Three incumbent Ottawa city councillors are just over a week away from another term at city hall, even though the election isn't for another two and a half months.
In a message to Ontarians about their plans for the province, the Ford government hinted at a 'bold' new strategy for health care, but some health-care workers in the region are still concerned for the future.
St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener has added a touchscreen self-check-in kiosk into its emergency department. in hopes of streamlining patients through the triage system.
“I thought I was going to die,” recalls Clara Sorrenti. “As soon as I saw the rifle I screamed.” On August 5, the popular transgender activist and streamer on the website Twitch was awakened by heavily armed officers from the London Police Service at her downtown residence.
The amount of money Quebec has spent on private health-care workers has quadrupled in the last five years as it continues to deal with a worker shortage made worse by the pandemic.
Queen Mary Road in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood is about to get four kilometres of reserved bus and taxi lanes which the city says will save commuters six minutes and 40 seconds of precious travel time.
The reopening of a Newfoundland highway that had been closed for days because of raging wildfires provided hope Tuesday that much-needed supplies would finally arrive in stranded communities along the island's south coast.
It's been to Niagara Falls, the Kentucky Derby, tossed off a balcony and guest starred on Howard Stern. It's even been to Innisfail. But Tuesday around 6 p.m., the Cup had a truly Calgarian experience when it floated down the Bow River.
Animal rescue groups that find Calgary foster placements and forever homes for dogs from international countries say a new federal ban importing dogs from a list of countries as a control measure against rabies unfairly hurts groups trying to help dogs.
If Edmonton does go ahead with a new gondola over the North Saskatchewan River, a local businessman has a grand idea for what to surround it with on the southern edge of the valley.
A prominent American ballerina and her husband have withdrawn a claim that Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz paid for sex with an underage dancer several years ago, saying they have since learned she was 18 at the time.
Patients and doctors alike are feeling the effects of a turbulent healthcare system, where clinic closures have B.C.'s physicians weighing their options as their orphaned patients plead to be seen by a shrinking number of general practitioners.
Several police officers were allegedly assaulted Tuesday in the Downtown Eastside, amid heightened tensions in the neighbourhood as crews were dismantling a tent city.
