A nurse from Latham has pleaded guilty to writing prescriptions for drugs, mainly amphetamines, to people who did not need them.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Christopher Viagrande, 42, admitted in U.S. District Court that he wrote a total of 149 prescriptions for controlled substances to five people without a legitimate medical purpose between May 2021 and January 2024. Most of the prescriptions were for amphetamines, investigators said.
Viagrande also wrote 28 more prescriptions for the two people between June 2019 and April 2020, the court heard.
Viagrande’s sentence will be set at a later date. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. He will also be required to surrender his DEA registration that allows him to prescribe controlled substances.
