San Antonio Prescription Fraud Attorney

Texas Prescription Drug Fraud Laws

A person can be charged with prescription drug fraud, which can be a felony under a number of circumstances, if they knowingly and intentionally:

• Use a fictitious, revoked, or suspended registration number during the manufacturing, distributing or prescribing of controlled substances
• Issue a prescription with a forged or fictitious signature
• Use someone else’s prescription to prescribe a Schedule II drug
• Possess or attempts to obtain a controlled substance or an increased amount of controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, or oral or electronic deception
• Produce false or fraudulent information or falsifies documents, reports or applications in order to obtain or prescribe controlled substances
• Deliver a prescription or a prescription form for any purpose other than a valid medical purpose in the course of professional practice
• Make, distribute, or possess anything that is designed to print, imprint, or reproduce a trademark, name, or identifying mark of a controlled substance, or a container/label of a controlled substance, with the intent to make a counterfeit controlled substance

Prescription Fraud Penalty in Texas

Penalties for prescription drug fraud depend on the schedule of the drug which could range from a class a misdemeanor to a 2nd degree felony. Being convicted of prescription drug fraud can come with up to 20 years in prison & $10k in fines.

The most widely used of these is lack of intent. For prescription fraud to take place, there must be a clear and present intent to make a misrepresentation of facts for a given situation. In other words, it must be the defendant’s goal to clearly deceive a doctor, a pharmacy or others for the purpose of illegally obtaining a prescription. If a person makes an honest mistake or shows that they are intending to misrepresent themselves or their situation, then they can be cleared of the charges they are facing.

In other instances, a defendant may be able to claim a defense of unwitting possession, which means they did not know they were illegally in possession of a prescription drug. For more details on prescription fraud, including the most commonly abused prescription drugs, go here.

The bottom line is that prescription fraud charges are serious and require the immediate counsel of an experienced attorney to help you preserve your freedom. Call the Emmons Law Firm today to schedule your free initial consultation.