State agents accuse Greensburg nurse of writing fake prescriptions for thousands of pills

A Greensburg nurse is accused of writing fraudulent prescriptions for thousands of pills and filling them at pharmacies throughout the area, according to court papers.

Kari A. Halaut, 54, used prescription pads belonging to her former employer after being fired and continued to write prescriptions while working at other nursing facilities without legal authority to do so, agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office reported. Investigators used the state’s prescription drug monitoring program to track her prescribing practices, according to court papers.

Halaut is free on $50,000 unsecured bond. She was charged Monday with acquisition by misrepresentation, drug possession, identity theft and related offenses.

Halaut was issued a registered nurse license in 1990 and certified registered nurse practitioner license in 2003, according to state licensing data. During her time as an employee at Excela Health, she was permitted to write prescriptions for patients through a collaborative agreement with a doctor.

But agents said she prescribed drugs for several family members, none of whom were patients being seen by the doctor with whom she worked, according to court papers.

Investigators said she continued using a prescription pad from Excela Health after being fired in January 2018 after failing a drug screen, according to court papers. Halaut is accused of writing prescriptions for patients at other facilities where she worked afterward without a collaborative agreement with a doctor.

Authorities said she put her own phone number at the top of prescriptions for relatives and picked up the drugs at pharmacies. Beginning in December 2016, she wrote nearly 200 prescriptions for about 7,000 pills, according to court papers.

In one instance authorities detailed in court papers, a pharmacist at a Greensburg Rite Aid contacted a family member of Halaut in 2017 after receiving a prescription for Adderall. The family member was unaware of the prescription, according to court papers. A woman who came in later to pick up the prescription left without it after being asked for identification.

Investigators said the prescriptions were mostly for Adderall. which can be used to treat narcolepsy and ADHD, and Adipex, which can be used to promote weight loss. Her attorney, Phil DiLucente, said he and another attorney in his office are “digesting the allegations and complaint, attempting to get our arms around this matter.”

A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 6. Both of Halaut’s licenses were renewed last month and are set to expire in 2023.