Florida nurse practitioner prescribes oxycodone behind patients’ backs

FLORIDA – A former Florida nurse practitioner has been sentenced to prison for an illicit oxycodone prescription scheme.

Jacquelyn DeVito, 40, of Brandon, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew for unlawful drug distribution and acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation.

DeVito also relinquished her Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner licenses to the State of Florida Board of Nursing and agreed never to reapply for a Drug Enforcement Administration registration number, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).

DeVito pleaded guilty on December 9, 2022.

According to court documents, between March 2020 and June 2022, DeVito worked as a nurse at an urgent care medical office. During this employment, she offered patients separate home health services through her privately-owned company, Bee Home Medical LLC.

DeVito reportedly used Bee Home Medical patients’ names and dates of birth to prescribe oxycodone, a Schedule II controlled substance, without their knowledge or consent and issued those prescriptions to local retail pharmacies.

“When the prescriptions were filled and ready to be picked up, DeVito went to the pharmacies and acquired the controlled substances by falsely stating that she was the victim patients’ caregiver and was picking up the controlled substances on their behalf,” the USAO said.

According to the USAO, DeVito is said to have prescribed and acquired more than 2,900 oxycodone pills. Many victim patients had no knowledge that DeVito had issued the prescriptions in their names and confirmed there was no legitimate need for them to receive the medication.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (Tampa District Office) and the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo prosecuted the case.