3 charged with using fake prescriptions at pharmacies

Three South Florida residents have been charged with using fake prescriptions to obtain controlled substances at pharmacies in Sarasota, according to the Sarasot Police Department.

The trio face a total of 36 felony charges and one misdemeanor charge, including attempting to obtain a controlled substance with fake prescriptions, according to a news relase

Between April and July 2016, 25-year-old Tony C. Hall, Jr. of Hallandale Beach, 21-year-old Tiffani N. Green of Mirmar and 42-year-old Darren C. King of North Port traveled to the Sarasota area and tired to use fake prescriptions at local pharmacies. One of the pharmacies filled out the prescription, while the others detected it as fake, according to police.

According to the release, the suspects would use fake patient names with real physicians in the area to get phenergen-codeine, a cough syrup that is a Schedule V drug.

According to Green’s probable cause affidavit, she was arrested on April 27 after trying to obtain the cough syrup. Hall, who drove her to the Sarasota pharmacy, ran away after a detective approached him and was subsequently arrested in Broward County on June 23.

The probable cause affadavit for King said that he attempted to fill a fake prescription for promethazine-codeine, also a Schedule V drug. After the pharmacist identified the prescription as fake and called Sarasota police, King returned to obtain the prescription and was arrested.

Hall was charged with six counts of criminal use of personal identification information, five counts of forgery, five counts of obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, two counts of possession of counterfeit-resistant prescription blanks and one count of driving while license suspended.

Green was charged with six counts of criminal use of personal identification information, two counts of possession of counterfeit-resistant prescription blanks, four counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, one count of obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and one count of possession of marijuana.

King was charged with two counts of attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and two counts of criminal use of personal identification information.

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "3 charged with using fake prescriptions at pharmacies."