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.