Nathan Pehrson, 41, of Sandy, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison in a United States District Court after being convicted at trial by a federal jury in the District of Utah of three counts related to fraudulently obtaining and tampering with the pain killing narcotic hydromorphone, a powerful schedule II opioid drug that is used to treat patients with moderate to severe pain. Upon his release from federal prison, Pehrson was also sentenced to an additional term of 36 months of federal supervised release. A jury had previously found that during Pehrson’s employment as a nurse on a surgical and trauma ward, that he diverted hydromorphone from pre-loaded syringes for his personal use, and then replaced the pain medication with saline solution before they were placed back into circulation for medical use by other hospital staff on other patients. Pehrson was also convicted of making false statements to a special agent from the Food and Drug Administration about his illegal activity while under investigation for his crimes.
