Woman Charged With Embezzling Money From Doctor’s Office

By Debra McCown
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: September 25, 2008

ABINGDON, Va. – A Washington County woman has been charged with embezzling money from the doctor’s office where she worked and using it to buy diet pills.

Annette Hopkins Kilgore, 40, of Abingdon, faces one count of embezzlement, one count of prescribing medication without a license, three counts of distributing a controlled substance and 22 counts of prescription fraud, said Abingdon Police Chief Tony Sullivan, who referred questions on the case to prosecutors.

According to court records, she is accused of spending $658.90 of her employer’s money on the diet drug Phentermine.

Kilgore worked for Dr. William Handy, according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint states that no one in the office had permission to order the diet drug, and only Kilgore was authorized to order from the medical company that supplied the drug.

According to the complaint, Kilgore is accused of ordering 22 bottles of the drug, for $29.95 each, between June 29, 2006, and May 16, 2008.

Kilgore’s attorney, David Scyphers, said on Wednesday that he could not comment on the case nor advise her to do so until after speaking with her the following day.

Handy had no comment on the case; an employee in his office confirmed that Kilgore no longer works there.

Sullivan, the police chief, said his department routinely receives complaints related to misuse of prescriptions, particularly forgery, and doctors in town often work with police.

“It’s not just us,” Sullivan said. “It’s all of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. You ask people what the No. 1 drug problem is, it’s prescription medication.”

A sign hanging in a window at Handy’s office also is a testament to the problem: “Due to the recent problems with patients trying to refill their controlled substances before the 30 days, effective immediately there will not be any refills given for any narcotic pain meds … or any other controlled substance.”

According to additional criminal complaints in the court file, Kilgore also is accused of giving some of the pills to a fellow employee and selling some to another.

Kilgore’s case is scheduled for Nov. 12 in Washington County General District Court; however, most of the charges are felony charges and will not be tried in that court.

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