A former pharmacy procurement technician was sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing prescription HIV medications from the pharmacy of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in East Orange, New Jersey. Lisa M. Hoffman, 50, of Orange, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to Count 2 of an indictment charging her with theft of government property. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From October 2015 through November 2019, Hoffman was a procurement officer at the VAMC, who used her authority to order medication for the outpatient pharmacy, including ordering large quantities of HIV medication. Hoffman admitted that she stole HIV prescription medications from the VAMC pharmacy and sold it to her conspirator, Wagner Checonolasco, 35, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, in exchange for cash.
Checonolasco previously admitted to conspiring with Hoffman to steal HIV medication belonging to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The loss amount was more than $8.2 million. In addition to the prison term, Hoffman was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay restitution of $8.29 million and forfeiture of $450,000. Checonolasco previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal government property and was sentenced in February 2022 to 42 months in prison.
