A former nurse from Lexington, Kentucky, Abigail Hall, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison for tampering with a consumer product. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove.
Hall, aged 51, admitted to tampering with medication while working as a contract registered nurse at various facilities in Kentucky between January and August of 2023. One such facility was located in Lawrenceburg and specialized in caring for the elderly and infirm. On August 27, 2023, Hall confessed to taking morphine prescribed for three patients under her care who had significant disease and pain concerns. She replaced the stolen morphine with water and blue food coloring to mimic the appearance of real medication. At least seven syringes were taken by Hall, who administered the altered substance to at least one patient.
Under federal law requirements, Hall is obligated to serve 85 percent of her sentence before becoming eligible for release. Following her incarceration, she will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for an additional three years.
The announcement of Hall's sentencing was made jointly by Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and George A. Scavdis from the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations' Metro Washington Field Office.
The investigation leading to this conviction was carried out by FDA-OCI with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Smith prosecuting on behalf of the United States.