Former Western Pennsylvania nurse practitioner sentenced to jail for writing fake Oxycodone prescriptions

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A former Western Pennsylvania nurse practitioner was sentenced to jail for writing fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of Oxycodone pills, prosecutors announced on Monday.

Fifty-six-year-old Joseph G. Sapp was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months followed by eight years of probation after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to deliver, Medicaid fraud, forgery and related charges, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said.

Investigators said Sapp wrote prescriptions for himself and others in exchange for money to be filled at pharmacies in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Fayette and Washington counties. 

During an interview, prosecutors said Sapp admitted to using Medicaid fraudulently to submit false claims for prescriptions that weren't needed medically and to using fake identities to illegally pick up the pills. Prosecutors said he also confessed to forging prescriptions and giving drugs to others in exchange for money. 

"The defendant had a professional responsibility to prescribe medications for people in need, and instead, betrayed his duties by contributing to the opioid epidemic and expanding access to Oxycodone," Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a news release. "Those who administer these powerful medications will be held to the highest standard, and remain accountable when they break the law."  

The Office of Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotics Investigations and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit led the investigation. The office was helped by Penn Township police, the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force, the Westmoreland County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.