SOLEDAD, Calif. -- Prison nurses on the central coast are under investigation for allegedly falsifying overtime hours and diverting drugs that were meant for prisoners.
Angelia Britt, a nurse at Soledad's Correctional Training Facility, has been a registered nurse since 1987 in Monterey County.
The State Attorney General filed complaints showing several allegations of fraud.
While working as the director of nursing, Britt allegedly falsified and approved fraudulent timesheets to pay a nurse when he or she was sick, or not at work.
In 2010, the complaint claims Britt pretended to perform an audit and recreated controlled adminstration record sheets, claiming 1,200 drugs were missing, and never actually reported the drug losses.
Now the Department of Consumer Affairs said her license could be at stake and has four different allegations under investigation.
"The fact that we've actually filed an accusation is significant in that it means that we've determined that there are some potentially license-threatening behaviors that have occurred," said Russ Heimerich of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Albert Cox, a licensed vocational nurse in Merced county who was fired from the prison last year, is accused of putting incorrect entries in patient records related to controlled substances.
For instance, in August of 2010, he allegedly signed off on morphine for an patient even though the patient didn't have a prescription for the drug while working at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Correctional Facility in Salinas.
Cox is also being investigated for obtaining or possessing pharmaceutical drugs, and not administering medications properly.
He has a total of six different investigations underway.
He was fired from the prison in 2011.
The nurses have a chance to file a notice of defense if they want to fight the accusations.
If that happens, this then goes before an administrative law judge, who then gives a proposed decision.
The final decision is made by the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians.
The Department of Consumer Affairs said neither Britt nor Cox filed a notice of defense as of Monday evening.
