Tampering

A health care professional or their agent who tampers with a prescription drug prescribed for a patient in New Jersey will face a second degree charge under N.J.S.A. 2C:40-17(b), Tampering (Prescription Drugs) that could lead to a prison sentence as long as 10 years.

Even worse, the law requires that any sentence for Tampering (Prescription Drugs) include a term of imprisonment, so there’s no chance that you’ll be able to negotiate an entirely non-custodial sentence.

Penalties for conviction under 2C:40-17(b) include a prison sentence of five to 10 years and fines up to $150,000.

You’ll also almost certainly find your license to practice medicine or pharmacology in New Jersey revoked, and of course, you’ll have a felony record potentially for the rest of your life. It’s a dire situation to find yourself in.

If you’ve been charged with Tampering (Prescription Drugs) in New Jersey, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer right away. Call Matthew Reisig today at 732-385-3339 and talk to a lawyer for free.

When someone tampers with food, medicine, or cosmetics in New Jersey, they’ll be charged with a crime of the third degree. When a health care professional or other authorized medication prescriber tampers with medicine prescribed for someone in New Jersey, under the terms of N.J.S.A. 2C:40-17(b), Tampering (Prescription Drugs), they will be charged with a crime of the second degree, and can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

With many criminal convictions, the state makes an effort to minimize a person’s exposure to jail time. This isn’t really true for crimes of the second degree, and it’s affirmatively not true for Tampering (Prescription Drugs) charges.

The statute requires that conviction lead to a term of imprisonment and prohibits judges from suspending the sentence or making other non-custodial arrangements. 2C:40-17(b) also explicitly leaves open the possibility that you’ll be charged with greater crimes, presumably through injuries caused by the tampering.

These are extremely serious charges that can cost you your freedom, your career, and your reputation. If you’ve been charged with prescription drug tampering under 2C:40-17(b), you need a lawyer today. Call Matthew Reisig at 732-385-3339 for a free consultation.

If you’re convicted of Tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics in New Jersey, you’ll be in violation of the statute N.J.S.A. 2C:40-17(a), which makes it a crime of the third degree for a person to knowingly tamper with one of the above mentioned items.

As a crime of the third degree, Tampering carries a prison sentence of three to five years in New Jersey, plus fines of up to $15,000. Importantly, crimes of the third degree include a presumption of non-incarceration.

Serving your sentence under supervision, rather than incarceration, may be an option assuming that no one was badly hurt by the tampering in question. These are considerations that an experienced lawyer is best able to evaluate for you.

If you’ve been charged with Tampering under 2C:40-17(a), talk to an experienced lawyer right away. Call Matthew Reisig at 732-385-3339 for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney.

Tampering with food, medicine, or cosmetics can lead to panic, and actually has a few times in America’s past. In New Jersey, Tampering is a crime.

When a person tampers with a food, drug, or cosmetic product, or they tamper with a prescription drug, they are violating New Jersey’s statute N.J.S.A. 2C:40-17(a) or (b), Tampering, which makes it a crime of the third degree to do so, and specifically leaves open the possibility of greater criminal charges in the event that the tampering results in injury or worse to others.

While your first thought may be of something like the early 1980s Tylenol murders in Chicago, in the internet era, tampering can be a lot simpler. Last summer, viral videos online showed people opening ice cream packages in stores and pushing their finger in, then closing the ice cream and returning it to the freezer.

Tampering (NJ 2C:40-17(a)) has harsh penalties and it’s possible that you could be charged with this felony offense and face a prison sentence of up to five years.

If you’ve been charged with Tampering in New Jersey, don’t take chances with your future. Call Matthew Reisig today at (732) 625-9661 for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney.

Tampering (N.J.S.A. 2C:40-17) is the act of diluting, adulterating, or otherwise affecting a cosmetic, drug, or food product without a consumer’s knowledge.

In New Jersey, Tampering is punished in one of two ways.

If you are a private citizen who is not a health care professional, you will be charged with Tampering as a third degree crime, which can lead to a prison sentence of three to five years if convicted, and fines of up to $15,000.

The good news here is that in most cases, a third degree crime carries a presumption of non-incarceration, meaning that you may be eligible for alternative, non-custodial sentencing.

The bad news is that the statute expressly welcomes additional charges, so if a person was hurt or killed by the act of Tampering, or even if there was significant risk that someone could be, you may face far more serious penalties.

The second, and more serious, approach to prosecuting Tampering is reserved for health care professionals or their agents, who prescribe, dispense, or administer medication.

When such a person has knowingly tampered with medicine, they will be charged with Tampering as a second degree crime, and face a sentence of five to ten years with fines of up to $150,000.

Additionally, the law requires that judges sentence health care professionals to a period of imprisonment, and may not suspend their sentences or apply non-custodial options.

Tampering is a serious crime in New Jersey, particularly for those in the health care industry.

If you’ve been charged under 2C:40-17, call Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9661 for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney.

Many people will remember the panic that erupted in 1982 when a number of people around Chicago were mysteriously poisoned by Tylenol.

The case made headlines worldwide, prompted a massive recall and has permanently changed the way that products are packaged.

It also led to a series of legal prohibitions, at the federal and state level, against so-called Tampering.

In New Jersey, the statute N.J.S.A. 2C:40-17 makes it a crime of the third degree to knowingly tamper with a cosmetic, drug, or food product.

Healthcare professionals, including pharmacists and their agents, who knowingly tamper with medicine that has been prescribed for a patient will be charged with Tampering as a crime of the second degree, and the statute explicitly allows other, more serious charges in tandem with the Tampering charge.

Healthcare providers who are convicted under 2C:40-17 must serve time in prison.

The statute prohibits judges from issuing a suspended sentence or otherwise allowing the defendant to avoid serving some of the five-to-10 year sentence that a second degree crime warrants.

Healthcare providers will also face fines of up to $150,000 if convicted.

Penalties for Tampering as a crime of the third degree are still stiff, with a three to five year prison sentence possible and fines of up to $15,000.

Tampering is extremely serious, and can prompt an enormous public reaction.

Companies can suffer significant losses, which can impact their shareholders and employees.

Prosecutors take this charge very seriously, and you must as well.

If you’ve been charged with Tampering under 2C:40-17, get help immediately.

Call Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9661 to talk to an experienced New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for free.