A Brooklyn woman who was responsible for overseeing medications at an assisted-living facility in Hempstead is accused of turning that access into a personal pharmacy, according to prosecutors. The defendant, 34-year-old Tianah K. Allen of Brooklyn, was arraigned Friday on felony charges that she forged prescriptions and siphoned off residents’ oxycodone. She pleaded not guilty and was released on her own recognizance, with a return date set for May 26.
The case, outlined in a press release from the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, has Allen facing multiple felony counts. Prosecutors say she was arraigned before Judge William Bodkin on two counts of attempted criminal possession in the third degree, three counts of attempted criminal possession in the fourth degree and one count of forgery in the second degree. The office’s Pharmaceutical Diversion and Cybercrimes Unit is handling the prosecution, and if convicted, Allen faces a potential sentence ranging from one to 5½ years in prison, according to the DA.
Allegations and evidence
Federal investigators who joined the probe say surveillance video appears to show Allen using her job to quietly reroute painkillers. According to investigators, footage captured her handling medication deliveries, placing oxycodone pills into a brown paper bag or an envelope, then taking that package out to her vehicle.
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York division says investigators believe Allen also submitted forged prescriptions as part of the alleged scheme. That includes two separate requests on February 25, 2025, each for ninety 10-milligram oxycodone pills, plus what authorities describe as a forged prescription written for herself on March 1, 2025. In a statement quoted in the agency’s press release, officials noted, “Healthcare professionals and caregivers are entrusted with protecting those in their care, not exploiting them for personal gain.” More details are available from the DEA.
Investigation and workplace detail
According to prosecutors and local reporting, the case first broke open inside the facility itself. The administrator at Island Assisted Living launched an internal review on March 3, 2025, and later terminated Allen’s employment. Records cited by authorities indicate she had been working there since August 2024.
Prosecutors further allege that at least two of the prescriptions used residents’ identities in ways that raised immediate red flags. One allegedly bore the name of a resident with a documented history of drug abuse who, at the time, was not being prescribed narcotics at all. Another allegedly listed a resident who had died before the medication was delivered. Those details were reported by Newsday.
Charges, court date and penalties
At arraignment, Allen entered a plea of not guilty and was released without bail, according to prosecutors. Her next appearance in Nassau County Court is scheduled for May 26. The Nassau County District Attorney's Office says the investigation has involved multiple agencies, including the DEA, the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and the Nassau County Police Department’s Narcotics Vice Squad.
Prosecutors have emphasized that the case remains an active investigation and that the charges are still only allegations. Allen is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Why it matters
Alleged medication diversion inside long-term care facilities hits especially hard because residents are often in no position to track their own narcotics, let alone challenge missing doses. When the people in charge of protecting vulnerable patients are accused of gaming the system, it raises questions far beyond a single case.
Officials on Long Island have been ramping up scrutiny of opioid prescribing and potential diversion schemes, and this arrest comes amid a broader crackdown. In a separate case highlighting that trend, a Glen Head physician and his son were recently charged in an alleged prescription-selling operation, a case covered in detail in Glen Head doc and son nabbed.
