SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a former nurse charged with infecting seven people with hepatitis C at an Ogden hospital is one of more than 400 people across the country accused in health care fraud and opioid scams.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah said Thursday that 50-year-old Elet Neilson spread the virus by stealing narcotic drugs and injecting herself before injecting patients.
The charges came after health officials said some 7,200 patients may have exposed at hospitals in Ogden and Layton.
She is charged with eight counts of tampering with a consumer product and eight counts of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance.
If convicted, Neilson faces up to 20 years on each tampering count and four on each controlled-substance count.
No lawyer or publicly listed phone number was immediately available for her.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.