A Muskogee nurse has entered a guilty plea to a federal drug charge. Catherine Victoria Rogers, aged 51, is facing the consequences of drug misappropriation—including charges of acquiring a controlled substance through misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, and deception, according to a statement released by the Eastern District of Oklahoma's U.S. Attorney's Office.
The indictment against Rogers stated she knowingly and, intentionally engaged in such illicit activities from August 1, 2023, until November 14, 2023. It was during this period that Rogers, employed as a nurse at the VA Medical Center in Muskogee, gained access to about 132 hydrocodone pills, a controlled substance classified under Schedule II. There is a certain poignancy, that these allegations are not isolated in their nature, reflecting a broader struggle within the medical community dealing with the access to and potential abuse of prescription medication.
The investigation, spearheaded by the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of the Inspector General, brought to light Rogers' unauthorized activities. The Justice Department's release detailed how Rogers subverted the medical center’s procedures to extract the pills from their rightful place in the medication storage and distribution system. Rogers' guilty plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason A. Robertson who further ordered the preparation of a presentence investigation report. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Satter, took part in the proceedings representing the U.S.
Rogers awaits her sentencing, which will be determined after the completion of the investigation report. Further details on the timeline for these proceedings have not been disclosed.
