WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C.,None — Two more individuals were sentenced July 15 in federal court for their participation in a prescription conspiracy that ended with the arrest of 14 people in March 2010.
Dawn Cook, 40, of Newland, received a sentence of 110 months confinement followed by six years supervised release, according to the Watauga County Sheriff's Office.
Jordan Hughes, 24, of Roan Mountain, Tenn., was sentenced to 72 months confinement to be followed by three years supervised release, the sheriff's office stated.
Investigators determined that the group has presented fraudulent prescriptions at pharmacies in North Carolina and Tennessee during a span of several years, acquiring an estimated 130,000 pills with an estimated street value of $4 million.
The Watauga County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Unit was assisted in the investigation, nicknamed ‘Operation Pillbilly,' by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Boone Police Department and the Avery County Sheriff's Office.
Cook and Hughes make the 11th and 12th people to be sentenced in this case. The final two are scheduled for sentencing in August, the sheriff's office reported.
WSOC
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