Muncie hospice nurse accused of obtaining narcotics 'by fraud or deceit'

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie hospice nurse is accused of ordering prescription pain medication in the names of nursing home residents who then never received the narcotics.

Meredith Griffin Briles, 45, is charged in Delaware Circuit Court 5 with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or deceit, possession of a narcotic drug and failure to make, keep or furnish a record. All three charges are Level 6 felonies carrying up to 30 months in prison.

In an affidavit, Nick Anderson — drug diversion investigator for the Indiana attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit — alleged Briles, then employed by Paradigm Health, between April 2021 and March 2022 issued medical orders for two patients at different nursing homes in Muncie to receive hydrocodone, a "narcotic used to treat moderate to severe pain."

According to Anderson, Briles arranged to receive the medication at a local drug store "which was not the preferred pharmacy" for either nursing home where the patients were being treated.

"The prescriptions were never delivered to (either nursing home)," according to the affidavit.

Briles is accused of ordering 90-count containers of hydrocodone more than 20 times in each patient's name between April 9, 2021, and March 21, 2022.

Both patients are now deceased.

Briles' employment with Paradigm Health ended in 2022. She has been licensed as a registered nurse in Indiana since 2014.

The Muncie woman was processed at the Delaware County Jail on Thursday and was released after posting a $15,000 bond. Court records reflect no prior charges against her.

An initial hearing in her case is set for Sept. 5.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.