United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Yankton, South Dakota, woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of Tampering with Consumer Products and two counts of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge. Lisa Merrigan, age 54, was indicted in October of 2022. She appeared before US Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy on October 6, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to the Indictment. Counts one and two of the Indictment allege that on August 23, 2021, and September 7, 2021, Merrigan, who was working as a registered nurse in a hospital, tampered with vials of fentanyl citrate for injection stored inside the hospital’s Omnicell machine by removing the fentanyl citrate from the vials and replacing them with another liquid, knowing that the diluted fentanyl citrate could be dispensed to patients at the hospital. Counts three and four of the Indictment allege that August 23, 2021, and September 7, 2021, Merrigan knowingly and intentionally acquired and obtained fentanyl citrate, a Schedule II controlled substance, for injections by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, and subterfuge.
