Four arrested in suspected Modesto-area prescription drug ring

A three-month investigation ended this week with the arrests of a doctor’s office manager, a pharmacy technician and two other suspects in connection with a prescription drug ring that authorities say put more than 50,000 prescription narcotic pills on the streets of Modesto in the past year.

Blank prescription pads were being stolen from a pain management clinic, forged by members of the ring and filled at a Modesto CVS Pharmacy, said Chris Adams, an officer with the Modesto Police Department Narcotics Enforcement Team.

The pills, most of them highly addictive, opiate-based drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, were then sold on the street, police say.

“Hydrocodone has a street value of $3 to $5 (per pill), and oxycodone can sell for up to $40 for an 80 mg pill,” Adams said.

After an anonymous tip in November, investigators learned that nearly 300 fraudulent prescriptions had been filled in the past year using six fictitious names and eight real names.

Tuesday, MNET officers, with the assistance of the police Street Gang Unit, detectives and agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, served search warrants at the CVS Pharmacy in McHenry Village, Central Valley Pain Management on Mable Avenue, and three homes in Modesto and one in Hughson.

During the searches, officers seized more than 2,800 prescription pills, two loaded firearms, a high-capacity magazine, $1,000 in cash and several fraudulent and blank prescription pads, Adams said.

Arrested were Christina Martinez, 27; Lance Wilson, 30; and Mona Chavarin, 43, all of Modesto; and Lenele Nunez, 31, of Hughson. All are out of custody on bail.

Chavarin is a licensed pharmacy technician, according to public records from the Department of Consumer Affairs, Board of Pharmacy.

Dr. Patrick Rhoades, owner of Central Valley Pain Management, said Wednesday that he is “in shock” over the arrest of his office manager, Nunez. “I had complete and total trust in her,” he said. “I thought she would never be the type of person who would do that. This is just beyond me.”

Nunez had worked at Central Valley Pain Management for a number of years, starting out analyzing drug tests, advancing to become Rhoades’ medical assistant, then being promoted to office manager several years ago.

“She had gained my trust greatly,” Rhoades said. “In the last few years, she was performing admirably, many things in our office were running smoother than ever before.”

He said Nunez came to work in the morning Tuesday but then said she had to leave to address an issue with her children. She never returned.

A few hours later, MNET officers and DEA agents were in the office of Central Valley Pain Management with a search warrant.

Sgt. Kelly Rea, who supervises MNET, said prescription medication abuse and theft are on the rise. “We are seeing more and more of these cases come through our office,” he said. “It’s alarming how many people are becoming addicted to these pills, and moving right into other highly addictive drugs, such as heroin.”

There are many state and federal regulations in place to ensure that controlled substances don’t get into the wrong hands. Doctors who prescribe them must register with the DEA and use special prescription pads printed and issued by the Department of Justice. There also are limits on how often prescriptions can be refilled.

Still, an average of 1.5 million pills are reported lost or stolen from California pharmacies each year, said Virginia Herold, executive officer of the California State Board of Pharmacy.

Rhoades said he has safeguards at his office to avoid prescription drug abuse by his patients. He regularly drug tests them to ensure they are not taking illicit drugs but are taking the drugs prescribed to them and not selling them on the street. He also checks Department of Justice reports to assess whether his patients have received or sought the drugs from any other doctor in the past year.

But he trusted Nunez implicitly and gave her the authority to order new prescription pads and maintain the key to the locked room in which they were kept, he said.

Moving forward, Rhoades said he will keep prescription pads in a safe and implement a system of checks and balances. He will require two people to sign them out and keep better records to ensure that every pad is properly used in sequential order.

He hasn’t seen Nunez since her arrest but said she will not be returning to work. “I feel very bad that medications got into the community that were not prescribed by us because of what has happened in our office, because someone misused her power,” he said.

Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for CVS Pharmacy, responded by email to The Bee’s request for comment. “Prescription fraud is a serious criminal offense that we work hard to prevent,” he wrote. “We have been and continue to fully cooperate with the authorities in the investigation of our employee’s alleged activities. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further on the allegations and defer to the Modesto Police Department for any additional comments.”

Herold confirmed that the state pharmacy board has launched an investigation into the missing pills. She said she could not speak specifically to this case, but said a pharmacist can be disciplined and even lose his or her license as a result of a pharmacy technician’s actions for “failing to maintain security.”

All of the suspects were arrested on 286 counts of forged prescriptions, 286 counts of prescription fraud, 286 counts of fraud, 286 counts of commercial burglary, 181 counts of identity theft and conspiracy, authorities said.

Martinez also was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, being armed in the commission of felony, and felony child endangerment because one of the guns seized was accessible to a child.

Wilson also was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance for sale, being armed in the commission of felony, being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of high capacity magazine.

“Taking down such a significant group responsible for bringing thousands of pills to the street will hopefully make an impact,” said Rea. “I can only hope we saved a life from an overdose by cutting off this supplier.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2015 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Four arrested in suspected Modesto-area prescription drug ring."