Rigby pharmacist sentenced for obtaining controlled substances by fraud

A 38-year-old Rigby man was sentenced Monday to three years of probation for obtaining controlled substances, namely Tylenol 3 and 4, by fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

Benjamin J. Hurley was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye.

Hurley pleaded guilty on November 30, 2018.

According to court records, Hurley was employed as a pharmacist in Rigby. As part of his employment, Hurley had access to the controlled substances in the pharmacy and access to the pharmacy’s inventory management system. Hurley knowingly and intentionally altered the pharmacy’s inventory management system to fraudulently conceal his theft of acetaminophen/codeine 300/30mg (Tylenol 3) and acetaminophen/codeine 300/60mg (Tylenol 4) from the pharmacy. Tylenol 3 and Tylenol 4 are Schedule III controlled substances. Hurley stole over 1,600 pills of Tylenol 3 and 580 pills of Tylenol 4.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of law enforcement from the DEA, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.