Nurse pleads guilty to fraud, unlawfully prescribing medication
DYERSBURG, Tenn. — A Dyersburg woman has pleaded guilty to charges over the distribution of controlled substances and fraud.
The US Department of Justice released a statement Tuesday, saying Kelly McCallum, 41, of Dyersburg, pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and one count of health care fraud.
The department says that McCallum worked as an advance practice registered nurse at Convenient Care Clinic.
They say from January of 2017 to early 2021, she had a sexual relationship with two patients that she provided medical care for.
They add that McCallum was also allegedly aware that another patient fatally overdosed after she prescribed them controlled substances, “but nevertheless continued to prescribe controlled substances outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.”
The department says that McCallum also billed Medicare and Medicaid for examinations and other services that she did not personally render, resulting in Medicare and Medicaid paying her around $16, 000.
McCallum will be sentenced on October 3, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each controlled substance count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud count.
In June of 2021, the Tennessee Board of Nursing suspended McCallum’s registered nurse license and advance practice registered nurse certificate, the release says.
Find the news release from the Department of Justice here.
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