GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced on Wednesday that 52-year-old Jennifer Robertson of Battle Creek and 56-year-old Michelle McAllister of Jerome have entered guilty pleas to participating in a multi-year, interstate conspiracy to transport and traffic diabetic test strips stolen from the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center to a Pennsylvania man.
Steven Anderson of Pennsylvania is facing federal charges for related crimes.
According to their plea agreements, Robertson spent over two decades in procurement for the Battle Creek VA Pharmacy, where she was responsible for ordering supplies for veterans in need of medical care. She is accused of allegedly stealing 10 boxes of diabetic test strips from the pharmacy’s inventory in June of 2017 and arranging online to meet with McAllister to sell them for cash.
For over two years, authorities say Robertson and McAllister conducted hundreds of such transactions with Robertson admitting to stealing over 7,500 boxes of diabetic test strips, costing the Battle Creek VA Pharmacy over $400,000.
The investigation was led by the Food and Drug Administration and the VA Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service.
“The theft of medical supplies intended for our nation’s veterans is a grave offense. Such schemes erode public trust, steal from the taxpayer, and divert valuable resources away from those who have rightfully earned them,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley of the VA Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office. “My office is resolved to investigate and root out anyone who would attempt to benefit from these fraudulent activities.”
“Medical products, such as diabetic test strips, that are not in the legitimate supply chain can present a health risk to those who buy and use these diverted products,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronne G. Malham, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “FDA will continue to protect consumers by investigating and bringing to justice those who attempt to traffic in diverted medical products.”
