United States of America v. Shelbi Wolken

Denver, Colorado, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with tampering with a consumer product in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1365.

While working as a case management coordinator for Intermountain Health, Shelbi Wolken, 35, of Wheat Ridge, Colorado abused her position and accessed electronic medical records and patients’ personal identifying information. In July 2024, officials at Intermountain Health discovered that the Wolken had used a patient’s information to pick up a prescription for oxycodone at the in-house pharmacy at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Denver. Wolken replaced the stolen medication with loratadine, an allergy medication. During further investigation, Wolken admitted to being addicted to opiates, and investigators found she had picked up approximately 139 prescriptions for approximately 127 patients between December 2023 and July 2024. Wolken replaced the stolen medications with a variety of ibuprofen, aspirin, acetaminophen, and loratadine. Several patients whose prescriptions were tampered with reported significant pain and post-surgical complications because they were unknowingly ingesting the wrong medication.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.