Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jun 2002
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2002 The Charlotte Observer
Contact:  http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
Author: Cristina C. Breen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin)

32 CHARGED WITH SALE OF CARDS USED TO BUY DRUG

TABOR CITY - Clara Graham was hunched over, picking green beans in this 
eastern N.C. town Wednesday when patrol cars pulled up and officers 
surrounded, handcuffed and searched her.

The charge against her: Police say she twice sold her Medicaid card to 
dealers of the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin.

"Whose Medicaid card is it supposed to be?" the 45-year-old yelled, then 
laughed and tossed her head back as an officer searched her pockets. "This 
is crazy."

In a first-of-its-kind raid in North Carolina, Graham was one of 32 
Medicaid recipients federal, state and Columbus County authorities searched 
for during a roundup of people they believe sold their monthly Medicaid 
cards. Investigators say the card users then fraudulently bought $28,926 in 
OxyContin at pharmacies.

The bust was the latest step in the state's fight against Medicaid fraud 
and the illegal use of OxyContin.

Medicaid cards work much like insurance cards, so people with Medicaid can 
pay for doctor's appointments and prescriptions. Police said those who sold 
the cards made between $20 and $200 each.

By late afternoon Wednesday, officials had charged 24 suspects with medical 
assistance recipient fraud. Some gave up easily. One put up a fight, hiding 
in a closet while officers raided his home, guns drawn.

All are scheduled to be arraigned in Columbus County District Court today 
and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Officials say Columbus County -- an agricultural county of 55,000 people 
about 160 miles east of Charlotte -- has been a target for a Medicaid ring 
partly because drug dealers know poor people willing to sell their cards.

Another factor, they say, is its proximity to South Carolina. Towns on 
state borders often have worse drug problems because dealers find it easier 
to evade police in two states.

Investigators say many of the cards were used to buy OxyContin in Charlotte 
and surrounding cities, including Matthews and Indian Trail, leading 
authorities to believe the ringleaders are from those areas.

Officials in the Columbus County social services department started to 
notice a problem about six months ago, when local pharmacists called them, 
wondering why so many Medicaid patients were buying OxyContin. Some 
pharmacists suspected some prescriptions for the drug had been forged.

An investigation revealed that those buying the drug had bought the 
Medicaid cards.

For just a $3 copayment, buyers of the Medicaid cards were able in some 
cases to buy a $670 bottle of OxyContin. The bottle's street value would be 
as much as $7,200, officials said.

Investigators say more busts of this type are likely.

"This may really be bigger than what we think. I can't believe that it's 
(only) here," said Columbus County Sheriff Jimmy Ferguson. "People are 
trying to figure out a way to get drugs without working the streets."

One suspect, Devaugh Prince of Tabor City, said his Medicaid card had been 
stolen by his friend's father, a man he knew was an OxyContin dealer.

Prince, 31, is disabled and said he was surprised when officers arrived at 
his home shortly after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities say Prince's card 
was used to buy more than $1,000 worth of OxyContin.

"I knew it was being used to buy Oxy," Prince said. "I'd told the SBI about 
it. I didn't know they were going to pop me or nothing."
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