Contact: United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger & Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig
414-297-1700
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger announced today that Kameka Simpson, 43, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of obtaining controlled substances (oxycodone) by fraud, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(a)(3), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(a)(1). The indictment against Simpson and others, returned by the grand jury earlier this year, was part of a larger National Healthcare Fraud and Opioid Takedown coordinated by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The indictment against Simpson and others charged multiple counts stemming from the defendants’ passing of fraudulent oxycodone prescriptions purportedly written by an authorized healthcare provider at a pain clinic in Milwaukee. Simpson, who entered her plea in district court on November 13, 2018, admitted that she used her position as an office assistant at the pain clinic to facilitate the fraud.
Simpson is scheduled to be sentenced in February. The prescription fraud count carries a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, as much as one year of supervised release, and a special assessment of $100. The aggravated identity theft charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of two years, a fine of up to $250,000, as much as one year of supervised release, and a special assessment of $100.
United States Attorney Krueger stated, “We must act with urgency to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths. For many, the road to addiction begins with prescription drugs. That’s why we are committed to prosecuting individuals who obtain prescription drugs outside of a professional medical practice.”
The Simpson case was investigated by the DEA, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, and the Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Koenig.
Information and resources concerning the opioid crisis and the DEA’s “360 Strategy” for addressing the crisis may be found at the DEA’s website, www.dea.gov
Information about “Dose of Reality,” the State of Wisconsin’s effort to prevent prescription painkiller abuse in Wisconsin is available here: https://doseofrealitywi.gov/
