A Baltimore County dental assistant and two of her relatives have been sentenced in a pill diversion case that officials say helped keep a local dentist high while he treated patients. The outcomes include a 10-year suspended prison term, supervised probation, and probation-before-judgment rulings, wrapping up a months-long, multi-agency investigation into oxycodone diversion and questionable billing.
Sentences and Court Orders
According to FOX45, Samantha Cook received a 10-year suspended sentence and three years of supervised probation, along with an order to complete 100 hours of community service. She has also been barred from participating as a provider in state or federal healthcare programs.
Cook’s mother, Alice Deese, received a probation-before-judgment disposition and five years of probation, while Cook’s step-grandmother, Janice Deese, was given probation before judgment with 18 months of supervised probation. Prosecutors told FOX45 they saw the sentencing as a way to dismantle a small but persistent supply chain that pushed legally prescribed oxycodone into the illegal market.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown weighed in on the broader impact, saying in a statement that abusing Medicare and Medicaid benefits to supply illegal opioids doesn’t just break the law, it devastates families and communities.
Dentist Pleaded Guilty Last Year
As detailed by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Dr. Andrew T. Fried, owner of Perry Hall Family Dental in Nottingham, pleaded guilty in November 2025 to one count of distributing narcotics and one count of prescribing controlled dangerous substances outside professional standards.
The Attorney General’s office reported that Fried admitted buying oxycodone pills weekly from a former employee. He was sentenced on December 15, 2025, to a 10-year term with all but one day suspended and three years of probation, and he has been excluded from federal healthcare programs. The office credited its Medicaid Fraud and Vulnerable Victims Unit and partner agencies with assembling the case.
How Investigators Say the Ring Operated
Investigators monitored Fried, Cook, and the Deese relatives from January 2025 through May 21, 2025, using GPS tracking on vehicles and surveillance of repeated hand-to-hand meetings, according to FOX45.
Financial records reviewed by authorities showed that Cook sold more than $100,000 worth of oxycodone to Fried over roughly 18 months. Prosecutors say Cook obtained the pills from her mother and step-grandmother, both Medicare recipients.
When investigators searched Fried’s clinic, they reportedly found an oxycodone prescription bottle in the office tied to Alice Deese and a barbiturate prescription bottle linked to a family pet, details officials cited as red flags for drug diversion and suspicious billing, according to FOX45.
Legal Consequences and Local Context
State prosecutors noted that being excluded from federal and state healthcare programs prevents the defendants from billing Medicare or Medicaid and is a standard penalty in diversion and fraud cases. The Attorney General’s office said the investigation relied on cooperation with both state and federal partners and framed the outcome as one piece of broader efforts to crack down on pill diversion schemes.
Baltimore County’s Opioid Response Working Group continues to coordinate prevention and monitoring across local agencies to address similar issues. Officials say these cases are meant to disrupt not just small, family-run supply networks but also the larger systems that let prescription drugs slip into the illegal market.
With the sentences in place, the courtroom chapter of this case is largely closed, but the fallout remains. The defendants will be supervised under probation, and their exclusion from healthcare programs sharply limits any future role they can play in medical billing or clinical settings.
