Illinois Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Theft of Medical Products and Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Todd C. Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Chicago Field Division, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris for the Central District of Illinois announced that Issac Jackson, 29, of Le Roy, Illinois, was sentenced on Sept. 7, 2023, to 30 months in federal prison for theft of medical products and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
According to court documents, while employed as a pharmacy technician, Jackson stole hydrocodone, alprazolam and promethazine with codeine before selling it illegally. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless found that Jackson was responsible for diverting over 28,000 hydrocodone pills from the medical chain of supply to the illicit drug market.
Jackson was indicted in October 2021, and pleaded guilty in November 2022.
The statutory penalties for theft of medical products are up to 15 years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. The statutory penalties for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute are up to 20 years’ imprisonment, up to a $1 million fine, and up to a life term of supervised release.
The DEA Diversion Unit, which focuses on cases involving pharmaceutical controlled substances diverted from the legal chain of commerce to the illegal drug market, investigated this case in conjunction with the Illinois State Police, Southcentral Drug Task Force, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Carlinville Police Department, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Pharmacy Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.