HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla – Lisa Williams, a 56-year-old registered nurse from Lithia, Florida, has pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges related to tampering with injectable fentanyl and acquiring controlled substances through misrepresentation.
Williams faces a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison for each of the six tampering counts and up to 4 years for each of the six acquisition counts. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to court documents, Williams, a licensed RN, committed the offenses on six separate occasions: October 30, November 5, November 28, December 3, December 9, and December 10, 2023. While working at an unnamed “Hospital #1,” Williams removed injectable fentanyl from a secure drawer.
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She then tampered with the fentanyl by removing a portion for her personal use. After extracting the drug, Williams reportedly replaced the compromised fentanyl with a previously tampered-with container and returned it to circulation within the hospital.
The prosecution argued that by tampering with the injectable fentanyl, Williams acted with “reckless disregard” for the safety of Hospital #1 patients, placing them in danger of death or bodily injury and demonstrating “extreme indifference” to that risk.
In addition to the tampering, Williams knowingly falsified hospital records to conceal her actions. She manipulated records to show canceled transactions, creating the false appearance that no fentanyl had been removed from the secure drawer.
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The case was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo is prosecuting the case. The guilty plea highlights the serious consequences of drug diversion and tampering within healthcare settings, emphasizing the potential harm to patients.
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