SMITH COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A federal jury has convicted a Murfreesboro woman for illegally distributing nearly 1 million opioid pills to patients as part of a major opioid investigation, officials announced Tuesday.
According to the United States Department of Justice, the conviction comes years after 43-year-old Heather Marks was indicted alongside other medical professionals during what was described as a “major regional drug round-up.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | 9 Middle Tennessee medical workers federally charged in major opioid investigation
Documents and evidence presented during trial reportedly revealed that Marks, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, prescribed controlled substances to patients who were seeking pain treatment at the Lifeforce Pain and Wellness clinic in Carthage.
From September 2016 through May 2018, officials said Marks and other medical professionals “overprescribed highly addictive opioids, including oxycodone and oxymorphone” to Lifeforce patients.
CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee
According to the DOJ, evidence revealed that Marks prescribed nearly one million opioid pills to almost 1,000 Lifeforce patients over the course of the conspiracy. The patients were allegedly often addicted to illegal drugs and the opioids that Marks and others prescribed to them.
“Marks ignored obvious signs of Lifeforce patients taking illegal drugs at the time she prescribed them opioids, which put these patients in danger of overdosing. Marks further prescribed opioids to Lifeforce patients who she knew were likely selling the opioids on the street,” stated the DOJ in a release about the incident…