BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo woman who worked as an office manager for a Williamsville physician now admits she wrote more than a hundred opioid prescriptions for herself over a three-year period.
Kristy Brucz, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
Prosecutors say between 2015 and March 2018, Brucz used the name of the physician for whom she worked to issue 166 fraudulent prescriptions for a total of 11,885 dosage units of controlled substances that included hydrocodone and oxycodone.
Because of her position, Brucz had access to the doctor's prescription pad and a state-issued electronic prescribing hard token that allowed her to submit prescriptions on the doctor's behalf.
In March 2018, a Rite Aid pharmacist questioned the legitimacy of a prescription Brucz was trying to fill and contacted the physician for whom she worked, ultimately uncovering the scheme.
Brucz faces up to four years in prison and a $250,000 fine when she is sentenced August 19.
