Pharmacist, Dentist Accused of Shady Pill Exchange

A pharmacist has been accused of scheming with a dentist to prescribe and dispense controlled substances, and then splitting the pills.

Kevin Foster was arrested on June 17, 2016, in the Indianapolis, Indiana, area in connection with a Medicaid fraud case, as well as 5 counts of filling an invalid prescription for legend drugs, Fox 59 reported.

Police say Bernice Avant was the dentist allegedly involved in this scheme. He would write prescriptions for medications like hydrocodone and diazepam under the names of Foster’s relatives.

The pharmacist would then fill these prescriptions at his pharmacy and split the pills with Avant, Fox 59 reported. A pharmacy technician alleged that she saw Foster give the pills to Avant inside the pharmacy, police said.

At this point, police don’t believe Foster’s relatives were involved in the scheme.

“It’s very unusual for a pharmacist to be filling a prescription for a family member, particularly where it’s a drug that is sought after, like hydrocodone,” Deputy Prosecutor Tim Delaney told Fox 59. “And then to add that the behaviors he was engaging in, [like] hand delivering the prescriptions from behind the desk to Dr. Avant. …It all raised a variety of red flags.”

The pharmacist bonded out of jail and should appear in court in July 2016. Meanwhile, the attorney general is seeking to suspend Foster’s pharmacy license.

“Indiana has an opioid epidemic. These drugs are highly addictive and they destroy lives,” Delaney told Fox 59. “It’s a crisis we at the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office take very seriously.”