Minnesota Woman Pleads Guilty to Using Stolen Identities to Obtain Prescription Drugs

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota:

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the conviction of NANCI MAE DUSSO, 50, who obtained Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, and other prescription drugs by using false names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. DUSSO pleaded guilty to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and Social Security fraud. She entered her plea today before Judge Donovan W. Frank in United States District Court in St. Paul, Minn.

“Prescription drug abuse is both a crime and a serious health problem in Minnesota,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “This defendant deceived doctors and nurses in multiple states in order to obtain these powerful opioids. Working closely with our law enforcement colleagues and health care organizations throughout the region, we are dedicated to preventing the kind of prescription drug diversion seen in this case.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, between January 2013 and November 2013, DUSSO used at least 31 aliases to obtain or attempt to obtain prescription opiates from health care providers at Mayo Clinic satellite locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She commonly used out-of-state identities when visiting health care providers, often employed a story in which she complained of shoulder pain, and indicated that she was visiting a family member suffering from cancer. If DUSSO successfully convinced a health care provider to prescribe medication, a physical therapy or pain management appointment would also be arranged for her. However, the defendant did not attend these appointments.

According to DUSSO’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, DUSSO may have obtained more than 6,000 prescription opiates since as early as 2008, and visited more than 150 doctors in at least 11 different health care providers’ offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin. When defrauding these health care providers, DUSSO used stolen Social Security numbers of people both living and deceased and from numerous states. At different health care appointments, DUSSO listed her address as from Colorado, Utah, Oregon, and Kentucky.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in state court, a nurse practitioner at one Mayo Clinic satellite location became suspicious of DUSSO and reported her to Mayo Security. Mayo Clinic sent a system-wide notice to all employees alerting them of the alleged criminal activity. At least two Mayo Clinic satellite locations subsequently reported DUSSO for attempting to obtain prescription pain pills.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Rochester Police Department, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Social Security Administration.

U.S. Attorney Luger thanked the Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center, Allina Health, HealthEast Care, and Park Nicollet for their assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Newberry is prosecuting the case.

United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger today announced the conviction of NANCI MAE DUSSO, 50, who obtained Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, and other prescription drugs by using false names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. DUSSO pleaded guilty to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and Social Security fraud. She entered her plea today before Judge Donovan W. Frank in United States District Court in St. Paul, Minn.

“Prescription drug abuse is both a crime and a serious health problem in Minnesota,” said U.S. Attorney Luger. “This defendant deceived doctors and nurses in multiple states in order to obtain these powerful opioids. Working closely with our law enforcement colleagues and health care organizations throughout the region, we are dedicated to preventing the kind of prescription drug diversion seen in this case.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, between January 2013 and November 2013, DUSSO used at least 31 aliases to obtain or attempt to obtain prescription opiates from health care providers at Mayo Clinic satellite locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She commonly used out-of-state identities when visiting health care providers, often employed a story in which she complained of shoulder pain, and indicated that she was visiting a family member suffering from cancer. If DUSSO successfully convinced a health care provider to prescribe medication, a physical therapy or pain management appointment would also be arranged for her. However, the defendant did not attend these appointments.

According to DUSSO’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, DUSSO may have obtained more than 6,000 prescription opiates since as early as 2008, and visited more than 150 doctors in at least 11 different health care providers’ offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin. When defrauding these health care providers, DUSSO used stolen Social Security numbers of people both living and deceased and from numerous states. At different health care appointments, DUSSO listed her address as from Colorado, Utah, Oregon, and Kentucky.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in state court, a nurse practitioner at one Mayo Clinic satellite location became suspicious of DUSSO and reported her to Mayo Security. Mayo Clinic sent a system-wide notice to all employees alerting them of the alleged criminal activity. At least two Mayo Clinic satellite locations subsequently reported DUSSO for attempting to obtain prescription pain pills.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Rochester Police Department, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Social Security Administration.

U.S. Attorney Luger thanked the Mayo Clinic, Olmsted Medical Center, Allina Health, HealthEast Care, and Park Nicollet for their assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Newberry is prosecuting the case.