AG's Office Charges Bay Area Woman Who Allegedly Posed As Walgreens Pharmacist For 11 Years
MILPITAS (CBS SF) – State prosecutors on Tuesday announced the filing of criminal charges against a Milpitas woman who allegedly impersonated two different pharmacists and illegally dispensed prescription drugs including opioids at three Bay Area Walgreens pharmacies for 11 years.
Kim Thien Le was charged in Alameda County Superior Court on July 25 with three felony counts: impersonating two pharmacists with slightly similar names, stealing their identities and obtaining money, property or labor under false pretenses between 2006 and 2017.
The case is being prosecuted by lawyers from the office of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
In a separate administrative complaint filed with the state Board of Pharmacy in October against Le and Walgreens outlets in Fremont, San Jose and Milpitas, Becerra alleged that Le dispensed a total of 745,355 prescriptions including 100,701 for controlled substances while working at the three stores during those years.
KPIX 5 reported earlier this year that Le told the board she had attended Creighton University, but records revealed she'd never graduated. When the Board asked Le for her pharmacist license number, they said they discovered Le had used the license numbers of two pharmacists with similar names.
During questioning, Le told the Board "me and my son would be very grateful if you could just forget about this."
The drugs included fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and codeine, Becerra said. Many of the transactions conducted by Le were remote electronic verifications for prescriptions in a total of 395 Walgreens pharmacies, according to the administrative complaint.
Le was licensed as a pharmacy technician between 2001 and 2008 but never had a pharmacist license, according to the complaint.
Each of the three criminal charges against Le carries a potential sentence of one year and four months to three years in prison, if she is convicted.
Becerra spokeswoman Jennifer Molina said Le surrendered to authorities on July 26, was booked in Santa Clara County jail and was later released on bail. Her next court date in Alameda County Superior Court is August 30.
The administrative charges against Le and the three Walgreens branches are pending before the Board of Pharmacy, according to the board's website.
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