Hospital Worker Indicted for Drug Fraud

(Columbia) -- The Attorney General's Office announced the indictment of a 47-year-old hospital worker Thursday, saying the man acquired prescription drugs illegally.

Attorney Reginald I. Lloyd said a federal grand jury indicted 47-year-old Peter Phifer of Columbia because he acquired the prescription drug Fentanyl by fraud and deception last March.

Phifer was then employed as a cardiovascular technician at the Veterans Hospital in Columbia.

The maximum penalty for the offense is a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for four years.

Agents of the Department of Veterans Affairs investigated the worker. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Hunter Young of the Columbia office will handle the prosecution.