Great Lakes Wire

A former caregiver from Reed City Fields, an assisted living facility in Osceola County, has been charged with medication theft. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Walter Herrington III, 43, of Scottville, faces one count each of Larceny in a Building and Possession of a Controlled Substance. The charges are linked to the alleged theft and possession of Lorazepam (Ativan), prescribed to a deceased resident at the facility. Both charges are felonies.

"Caregivers provide invaluable services to their patients, but using that position to steal medications is a violation of trust and also a felony that my department will not hesitate to prosecute," stated Nessel. "These are controlled substances for a reason, and we must be able to trust in our caregivers to handle them responsibly and legally."

Special agents from the Attorney General’s office arrested Herrington yesterday, and he was arraigned today before Magistrate Daniel E. Clise. A bond was set at $10,000/10%. Herrington's next court appearance is scheduled for March 28th at 9:15 a.m. for a probable cause conference.

The charge of Larceny in a Building carries a potential penalty of up to four years in prison or a $5,000 fine or both. Possession of Lorazepam could result in up to two years imprisonment or a $2,000 fine or both.

The case is being handled by the Attorney General’s Health Care Fraud Division (HCFD), which acts as Michigan's federally certified Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The division receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant totaling $5,541,992 for fiscal year 2024; the remaining 25%, amounting to $1,847,326, comes from the State of Michigan.

It is important to note that criminal charges are allegations until proven otherwise in court. The defendant remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.