Two ex-employees of local medical practice sentenced in Adderall drug conspiracy
Two former employees of a medical practice with locations in Framingham and Whitinsville were sentenced in federal court in Worcester in connection with a federal drug conspiracy involving Adderall.
Rene Ruliera, 54, of Southborough, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. In August 2019, Ruliera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Adderall and four counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute Adderall.
Meghan Giacomuzzi, 39, of Whitinsville, was sentenced today by Judge Hillman to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. In February 2019, Giacomuzzi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Adderall and six counts of distributing and dispensing Adderall.
Between March 2016 and February 2018, Ruliera and Giacomuzzi conspired with Leslie Caraceni M.D, to distribute Adderall, an amphetamine, for reasons other than for a legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of medical practice. Caraceni hired Ruliera and Giacomuzzi to work at her medical practice in Framingham and later in Whitinsville, and enlisted both in a conspiracy to sell and distribute Adderall to individuals who had not been medically examined or given a clinical diagnosis to warrant a prescription. Office visitors met with either Ruliera or Giacomuzzi, discussed their desired prescription, paid for their office visit and left with a signed prescription for Adderall. Office visits lasted just minutes and each such visit cost approximately $200, payable in cash or through a credit card or debit card. Caraceni collected the cash from the office or received funds through deposits to her bank account.
Caraceni provided Ruliera and Giacomuzzi with blank prescription pads and explained how to fill out prescriptions for sale. Electronic communications between Caraceni, Ruliera and Giacomuzzi documented Caraceni’s knowledge of the prescriptions written by Ruliera and Giacomuzzi, the number of office visitors seen in her absence and the profits resulting from their sale of prescriptions to those visitors. Between November 2015 and July 2018, records from the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program show that well over 1,500 prescriptions for Adderall—amounting to over 110,000 pills—were filled in Massachusetts based on Caraceni’s prescriptions.
On Jan. 15, 2021, Caraceni was sentenced by Judge Hillman to seven years in prison and three years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute Adderall and three counts of distributing and dispensing Adderall.
Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division; Uxbridge Police Chief Marc Montminy; and Southborough Police Chief Jane Moran made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Estes of Mendell’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted both cases.
