Prescription fraud charged

Two Iberia Parish women have been arrested for prescription fraud following an investigation by the Narcotics Division of the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Sid Hebert said Laura Gaspard, 51, of the 6100 block of Maxie Trahan Road in Lydia, and Tina Melancon, 47, of the 100 block of Orleans Avenue in New Iberia, face multiple charges.

According to Hebert, Gaspard and Melancon, both LPNs, were claiming to work for three different doctors and were fraudulently calling in prescriptions to a local pharmacy. The prescriptions were for Hydrocodone (Lortab) and Alprazolam (Xanax).

Narcotics agents discovered that the calls had been taking place for about 20 months, dating back to January 2006.

"The plot by the two LPNs went undiscovered for that length of time as they followed the appropriate procedures, claiming to work for one of three doctors," Hebert said. "The plot was foiled when a local pharmacist noted that none of the doctors were involved and were unaware of what was taking place."

Gaspard and Melancon had never worked for the doctors whose names they used, Hebert said. They operated independently with enough information to sound legitimate.

Narcotics agents conducted an extensive investigation, pulling records from both the pharmacies' and the doctors' offices and were able to determine that, over the course of time, the two women obtained more than 6,100 dosages of Lortab and Xanax, the sheriff said.

The drugs had a street value of more than $31,000.

Gaspard faces 55 counts of obtaining a prescription through forgery or subterfuge, possession with intent to distribute Schedule III narcotics (Hydrocodone) and possession with intent to distribute Schedule IV narcotics (Alprazolam).

Melancon is charged with four counts of obtaining a prescription through forgery or subterfuge and possession with intent to distribute Schedule IV narcotics.

Bond was set on each at $100,000. Melancon has since bonded out of jail, Hebert said.