Special agents assigned to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division, with the assistant of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, have obtained indictments charging a Lebanon nurse accused of unlawfully prescribing controlled substances.
As part of an ongoing investigation, agents became aware of allegations involving Alton Birmingham, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at a physician’s office in Lebanon. Further investigation revealed that, on several occasions in 2020, while the doctor wasn’t in the office, Birmingham continued to see patients and called in prescriptions using the doctor’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number. The practice is no longer in operation.
On Friday, the Wilson County Grand Jury returned indictments for Birmingham, charging the Lebanon man with seven counts of Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substance. Birmingham surrendered to authorities Tuesday and was subsequently booked into the Wilson County Jail on $10,000 bond.