Christopher Viagrande, age 41, of Latham, New York, was arrested and charged with distributing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. A criminal complaint charges Viagrande, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, with prescribing amphetamine (a Schedule II controlled substance) on 40 occasions to someone who was never his patient, from May 2021 to December 2023. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Viagrande was arrested on February 6 and ordered released on February 8 with conditions, including a prohibition on his prescribing controlled substances. If convicted on the charge in the complaint, Viagrande faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million, as well as up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release.
