Florida Nurse Charged with Fraudulently Diverting Fentanyl from Hospital Employer

NEWARK, N.J. - A Florida nurse was arrested today for diverting fentanyl from his hospital employer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

David L. Shaeffer, 35, of St. Petersburg, Florida, is charged by complaint with unlawfully acquiring or obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge. Shaeffer appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Tuite in Tampa federal court, and was released on $50,000 bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From Jan. 22, 2024, through Feb. 14, 2024, Shaeffer used his position as a travel nurse to fraudulently acquire and steal vials of fentanyl on at least 143 occasions while employed at a New Jersey hospital. Shaeffer took vials of fentanyl from the hospital's automated medication dispensing cabinets by using an override in the system to bypass the requisite doctor's order for the dispensing of fentanyl. Shaeffer prescribed the fentanyl himself to a specified patient even though he was not authorized to prescribe controlled substances. Shaeffer would dispense fentanyl and fail to administer the substance to the specified patient or dispose of the substance; dispense fentanyl and improperly dispose of the substance; and dispense fentanyl for a specified patient who had been discharged from the hospital. Shaeffer also fraudulently obtained fentanyl in a similar way while employed as a nurse in hospitals in Florida and Pennsylvania.

The charge of unlawfully obtaining or acquiring controlled substances by fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited task force officers and diversion investigators of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, Newark District Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; the Jersey City Police Department, Detective Bureau, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tampa Field Office; and the St. Petersburg Police Department with the investigation leading to the arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea D. Coleman of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.