A Bellerose woman was sentenced to six years in prison for stealing thousands of oxycodone pills from her former employer, a Suffolk County-based pharmaceutical company.
In 2022, Usharani Alexander was employed as an operator for the packaging department at a pharmaceutical company in Brookhaven. On four separate dates in summer 2022, surveillance video captured Alexander using her key card to gain access into the packaging area at times when she was not scheduled to be there.
Prior to entering the packaging area, Alexander was seen empty-handed. Once inside the packaging area, she was observed taking thousands of oxycodone pills before moving to an area that was not in view of the surveillance cameras. Alexander was then seen on video surveillance exiting the packaging area while carrying a weighted bag.
The pharmaceutical company discovered the theft after an audit uncovered a discrepancy between the amount of oxycodone pills that were manufactured, and the number of pills that were packaged for distribution.
On February 7, 2024, Alexander pleaded guilty to four counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Degree, Class B felonies, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski. On May 30, 2024, Pilewski sentenced Alexander to six years in prison to be followed by two years of post-release supervision.
“The pills that this defendant took from her employer are highly addictive, and when not used as prescribed, they can kill, as evidenced by the current opioid epidemic,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “I urge anyone seeking to purchase pills on the street, rather than legally obtain them through a prescription, to consider that while many pills may look legitimate, they are likely to be deadly.”