Martinsburg Nurse Pleads Guilty To Drug Theft

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A registered nurse from Virginia faces up to four years in prison for stealing prescription medication from a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia.

Paula High also faces a $250,000 fine.

The 55-year-old resident of Virginia Beach was accused of keeping the medication for personal use instead of administering it to a patient at the VA Medical Center in Martinsburg.

U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld said Tuesday that High pleaded guilty last week to obtaining and possessing controlled substances by fraud, misrepresentation, forgery and deception.

Ihlenfeld says High used her account at the hospital to obtain the medication while working in the emergency department.