ST. PAUL -- A Pelican Rapids doctor, who also practiced in Fargo, has pleaded guilty to writing fraudulent prescriptions for his own use.
Dr. Blair Nelson, 43, obtained at least 1,730 hydrocodone, oxycodone and other prescription pills by writing the prescriptions to various pharmacies using names of family members and friends. He would then pick up the drugs himself for his own use, said Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger in a release Wednesday.
Luger said Nelson entered his guilty plea in federal court in St. Paul before Judge Susan Nelson to a charge of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
“Prescription drug diversion is an ongoing threat to both public safety and public health,” said Luger. “Working closely with colleagues at the Drug Enforcement Administration and in local law enforcement, we are clamping down on prescription drug fraud and abuse.”
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Nelson wrote the prescriptions between May of 2013 and last September. He continued to write prescriptions even after the State of Minnesota suspended his medical license on Oct. 8, 2013, said Luger.
