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Last updated on Friday, December 30, 2011
(WASHINGTON) - A Washington woman is behind bars for prescription fraud after a lengthy investigation by Indiana State Police.
Cristal Renae Lewis, 35, of 230 Ogden St., was arrested at 9 a.m. Wednesday by state troopers on a warrant for forgery, a Class C felony; possession of a legend drug, obtaining a legend drug by fraud, Medicaid fraud, and neglect of a dependent, all Class D felonies. She was being held at the Daviess County Security Center on $7,500 bond.
The arrest came after ISP detectives launched a criminal investigation and established probable cause for the five felony warrants.
The investigation stemmed from information that Lewis had been calling in fraudulent prescriptions to a local pharmacy for both controlled substances and legend drugs for herself and her daughter over a two-year period.
Lewis allegedly forged and/or altered documents to fraudulently claim her 15-year-old daughter had esophageal cancer.
"This is just one example of how bad the prescription drug abuse problem is, and it also shows what a person will do to get those prescriptions," said Master Trooper Detective Vinnie Gieselman.
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