PHOENIX — A married couple from Chandler, Jessica Wise and Joseph James, were sentenced to separate terms in prison after pleading guilty in Superior Court to four counts of Obtaining a Narcotic Drug by Fraud for filling forged prescriptions for the prescription opiate Oxycodone.
James was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison; Wise was sentenced to a term of 2.75 years.
Wise had worked as a medical assistant for two medical providers in Maricopa County. Investigators determined that while Wise worked for these providers she had stolen prescription pads and began writing forged prescriptions for Oxycodone, said a release from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Wise and James would then fill these forged prescriptions for Oxycodone at several different pharmacies around Maricopa County.
The investigation revealed that Wise and James also sold some of the Oxycodone pills they obtained from these prescriptions.
Wise and James improperly acquired more than 7,000 Oxycodone pills.
Investigators found that Wise was terminated by her first employer for stealing blank prescriptions, she went to work at the second valley health care provider where she did the same thing.
It was also learned that while the couple were on release from the initial criminal charges filed on September 18, 2017, they continued to engage in their prescription forgery activity and this led to the second indictment filed on July 2.