A nurse from an outpatient vascular surgery center in Berkley, Mass., has agreed to plead guilty in federal court to tampering with a consumer product, fentanyl intended for a patient, the Justice Department said March 4.
Hugo Vieira, 41, is charged with removing fentanyl from vials for patients who were undergoing or recovering from surgery while working at the ASC and a Massachusetts hospital from December 2018 to January 2019.
According to the charging documents, Mr. Vieira replaced the fentanyl with saline — 60 tampered vials were identified at the ASC and two vials at the hospital.
Mr. Vieira agreed to plead guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product. The charge of tampering with a consumer product carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.