Seven Indiana nurses and one nursing home aid are facing criminal charges in what authorities have labeled “a national takedown” involving more than $6.5 billion in alleged healthcare fraud.
The common thread weaving most cases together in the Hoosier State appears to involve the alleged misuse or theft of pain-relieving opioids, according to a news release, which include controlled substances such as fentanyl, hydrocodone and oxycodone at Indiana nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
In at least one case, a Fort Wayne healthcare worker is accused of racking up more than $1,500 on a patient’s debit card, making DoorDash purchases the same day the patient died.
The U.S. Department of Justice revealed 455 people had been charged over a two-week period ending June 23, involving at least 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals in 45 U.S. states and territories.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office announced it played a key role in overseeing the recent nationwide law enforcement takedown.
“Medicaid exists to protect our most vulnerable Hoosiers — not to line the pockets of greedy providers,” said Rokita in a news release issued Friday. “When unethical professionals steal from these programs, they don’t just commit fraud — they betray taxpayers and hurt the very people who need help most.”
Here’s a brief summary of the eight cases involving Indiana healthcare professionals charged with fraud.
Indianapolis nurse charged with diverting hydrocodone
Authorities in Marion County charged Ki’Andreia James, 39, of Indianapolis, with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and a failure to make, keep, and/or furnish records tied to a controlled substance, both level 6 felonies.
According to a probable cause affidavit, James, a registered nurse, is accused of diverting hydrocodone from a patient and did not properly document its administration in November 2025 while employed at Hooverwood Living, a nursing home in Indianapolis.
An affidavit shows James’ employment was terminated from Hooverwood Living in December 2025. IndyStar reached out to the company June 29 for a statement but did not hear back as of Monday afternoon.
No attorney was listed for James at the time of this article’s publication.
Madison County nurse from Fishers charged with stealing fentanyl
Authorities in Madison County charged Brandy Rifner, 42, of Fishers, with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and furnishing fraudulent records tied to a controlled substance, both level 6 felonies.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Rifner, a registered nurse at a hospital in Anderson, is accused of being the top dispenser of fentanyl over a 90-day period in 2025, more than 129% higher than her closest peer in the same hospital unit.
During an investigation, Rifner allegedly told authorities she would divert fentanyl and hydromorphone, sometimes injecting narcotics into her leg after she got home from work, according to court documents.
A probable cause affidavit dated June 15 noted Rifner was still employed by Community Health Network. IndyStar reached out to the hospital to confirm her employment status but had not heard back at time of publication.
IndyStar was unable to reach an attorney listed for Rifner before this article’s publication.
Hamilton County nurse faces charges tied to oxycodone theft at Carmel nursing home
Authorities charged Tamara Smart, 51, of Indianapolis with one count of fraud and one count of failure to make, keep or furnish records regarding a controlled substance, both Level 6 felonies.
Between April and August 2025, court records allege Smart, a licensed practical nurse, diverted oxycodone from patients at Wellbrooke of Carmel, a nursing home, and did not properly document the administration of the medication.
Smart began working at Wellbrooke in 2021 and resigned in August 2025 after the nursing home suspended her for “irregularities” in controlled substance records, according to court documents.
IndyStar reached out to the company on June 29 but received no response.
At least 16 times, Smart withdrew oxycodone from locked medication carts but did not document giving it to patients, according to court documents. On the morning after her last shift, some narcotics were missing from the cart, too, investigators allege.
Colleagues believed Smart may have been impaired on her last day at work, but she told investigators she was drowsy from a combination of low sleep and prescription medication.
No attorney was listed for Smart at the time of this article’s publication.
Hendricks County nurse accused of taking nursing home patients’ oxycodone ‘for years’
Authorities have charged Paula McCarthy, 50, of Mooresville, with obtaining a controlled substance through fraud and furnishing false or fraudulent information. Each are Level 6 felonies.
According to a probable cause affidavit, McCarthy, a registered nurse in Brownsburg, is accused of diverting oxycodone from patients while she was employed at Brownsburg Meadows nursing home. Her employment was terminated in September 2025, according to court documents.
IndyStar reached out to the company on June 29 but did not receive a response.
During an investigation into a patient’s missing oxycodone, McCarthy allegedly asked another nurse to provide false statements claiming she had destroyed the medication. In a later interview, McCarthy allegedly revealed she had been stealing controlled substances from Brownsburg Meadows over the course of several years, investigators wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
No attorney was listed for McCarthy at the time of this article’s publication.
Fort Wayne nurse allegedly used dead patient’s debit card to order more than $1,500 in DoorDash
On multiple dates from March 2025 through February 2026, authorities say Mackenzie Leigh Deyer, 26, gained access to at least three patient’s debit cards while working as a home health aide at Evergreen Village, an assisted living facility in Fort Wayne.
An investigator found Deyer purchased food on DoorDash using credit or debit cards that didn’t belong to her. Deyer, according to a probable cause affidavit, would buy food for both herself and the patient from restaurants that included McDonalds, McAlister’s and Chick fil-A, but did not remove the credit card information from her DoorDash account.
Financial records obtained by investigators showed 54 DoorDash transactions made on one patient’s account,10 of which were delivered to Evergreen Village — the remaining 44 to other locations totaling more than $1,300.
More unauthorized DoorDash charges were made in February 2026, court documents state, after Deyer’s employment at Evergreen Village had ended in November 2025.
IndyStar reached out to the company for a statement on June 29 but have not received a response.
During a 15-day span in April 2025 that stretched from a patient’s hospitalization to their death, Deyer allegedly used the patient’s debit card to make 36 DoorDash transactions — 19 of which occurred after the patient died — at fast food restaurants, Walgreens, Meijer, Dollar General, a steakhouse and Penn Station, totaling more than $1,500.
Deyer faces nine criminal counts that include fraud, theft and identity deception, ranging from a misdemeanor to Level 6 felonies. No attorney was listed for Deyer at the time of publication.
Nurse in Dubois County accused of taking missing narcotics
Authorities in Dubois County charged Courtney Schaefer, 40, of Bristow, with three counts of fraud and one count of failure to make, keep or furnish records regarding a controlled substance.
Between July and September 2025, Schaefer, a licensed practical nurse, is accused of diverting hydrocodone, clonazepam, and pregabalin from patients, in which she allegedly did not properly document the administration of the medication while employed at The Waters of Huntingburg Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, a news release stated.
In October 2025, officials at the rehabilitation center told an investigator 90 narcotic pain pills had gone missing from the facility’s medication cart.
A review of patient records found discrepancies in Schaefer’s documentation and administration of narcotics. According to court documents, an administrator said Schaefer had been involved with the delivery or unpackaging of hydrocodone and oxycodone of at least three patients whose medication went missing.
Schaefer did not return to the facility to participate in the investigation, an affidavit states, and did not return multiple phone calls or emails by investigators.
A representative with The Waters of Huntingberg confirmed Schaefer is no longer employed with the company and declined further comment.
No attorney was listed for Schaefer at the time of this article’s publication.
Story continues after photo gallery.
Newburgh nurse failed to disclose that she wasn’t allowed around narcotics, admitted to diverting meds
Teresa Waltz, 54, of Newburgh, faces five counts of acquiring a controlled substance through fraud and one count of failing to keep or furnish records of a controlled substance, all Level 6 felonies.
Investigators allege that between February and June 2025, Waltz diverted medications including hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, lorazepam and tramadol while working at Premier Healthcare of New Harmony, a nursing home in Posey County.
During her hiring process, Waltz did not disclose she was on a diversion program that restricted her from dispensing narcotics. When a supervisor confronted Waltz and instructed her not to handle narcotics, court documents state Waltz continued doing so, scribbling the supervisor’s name on facility records in place of her own.
When later ordered to submit to an in-house drug test, Waltz rolled up her sleeve to reveal she was wearing a patch for opioid addiction, according to court documents. The resulting drug screening for opioids returned positive.
During an interview, Waltz told investigators she had been previously arrested in Warrick County on allegations of prescription fraud. About 45 days before her termination at Premier Healthcare, Waltz allegedly admitted to diverting Norco and keeping it for herself.
IndyStar reached out to the company for a statement Monday but have received no response.
No attorney was listed for Waltz at this article’s publication.
Waltz is not the only nurse previously employed at Premier Healthcare of New Harmony who’s facing charges of healthcare fraud.
Posey County nurse accused of diverting pain meds from patients
Authorities charged Pecola Simpson, 50, of Evansville, with four counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of failure to make, keep, or furnish records for a controlled substance. Each are Level 6 felonies.
Between January and June 2025, Simpson, a licensed practical nurse, is alleged to have diverted more than 30 units of of hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and lorazepam while she was employed at Premier Healthcare of New Harmony before her termination in July of that year.
IndyStar reached out to the company for a statement Monday but have received no response.
An investigation found discrepancies in how Simpson documented controlled substances. In March 2025, court records state Simpson removed opioid medications from the facility’s dispensing machine, but did not administer the narcotics for whom they were intended. On other occasions, Simpson allegedly removed medications and did not create the legally required controlled substance records for doing so.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Kyle Sprunger of the Indiana Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Office of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. No attorney was listed for Simpson at the time of publication.
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John Tufts covers trending and breaking news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at John.Tufts@IndyStar.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Nurses in Carmel, Indy, Brownsburg charged with fraud, stealing meds
Reporting by John Tufts and Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Tufts and Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
