A Boston Medical Center radiology tech was arraigned Friday for his alleged part is a scheme involving Adderall, Clonazepam, injectable testosterone and other drug prescription fraud, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden announced Sunday.

“Insurance fraud hurts everybody,” Hayden said. “Putting controlled substances on the street for personal gain—which appears to be the motive here—pushes that hurt even further. The fact that these are people abusing their legal and ethical responsibilities is an added level of medical and professional duplicity.”

The radiology tech, Rafael Garcia, 44, was charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws, obtaining drugs by fraud and larceny of a drug. Garcia was arraigned Friday in Boston Municipal Court Central Division and held on $2,500 bail.

Police first caught on to Garcia’s coworker, BMC nurse practitioner John Cann. A pharmacist in Malden flagged Cann and contacted police after becoming suspicious of Cann’s prescription practices and patterns.

Cann allegedly issued improper prescriptions for drugs including Adderall, Lorazepam and Amphetamine ER and often picked them up from the pharmacy himself.

Further investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Narcotics Unit with the Fraud Bureau showed Cann also allegedly wrote numerous prescriptions of Clonazepam, Adderall, Dextroamphetamine, Androderm patches and injectable testosterone for Garcia between Feb. 2021 and June 2023, again picking up many himself. Garcia was not his patient and charged the prescriptions to his health insurance.

Related Articles

Study: Weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced heart attack risk by 20%

Massachusetts Senate to press for prescription drug cost relief

Federal authorities announce ‘staggering’ seizure of candy-shaped fentanyl and meth in Lynn

East Boston man arrested after police find 240 grams of fentanyl in home

FDA makes warning of infection risk from eyedrops

Clonazepam — also known by the brand name Klonopin — Adderall, Lorazepam, Dextroamphetamine and Amphetamine are used for a variety of conditions including seizures, anxiety, ADHD, narcolepsy and others. All pose serious risks of abuse and addiction.

Androderm, like injectable testosterone, is used primarily as a replacement therapy for conditions associated with a deficiency of testosterone in adult males, according to the National Library of Medicine. Both drugs are often abused by bodybuilders and athletes, with many possible adverse reactions.

Cann was charged in Malden District Court earlier this year on charges related to issuing improper prescriptions.

Garcia will return to court on Dec. 29 for a pre-trial hearing.