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Pennsylvania doctor accused of writing fake prescriptions to obtain drugs for her own use

Dr. Jessie Kunkel, of Westmoreland County, is charged with 25 counts of fraud related offenses, Acting Attorney General Michelle Henry said Monday.
Credit: Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General
Dr. Jessie Kunkel

MURRYSVILLE, Pa. — A western Pennsylvania doctor has been arrested on charges related to writing fraudulent and illegal prescriptions to obtain drugs for her own recreational use, Acting Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced Monday.

Dr. Jessie Kunkel, of Murrysville, Westmoreland County, is charged with 25 different counts relating to the suspected fraud, Henry's office said in a press release.

“As a medical professional, Dr. Kunkel was trusted to care for her patients and her community,” said Henry. “She violated that trust when she used her patients’ identities to gain access to drugs for her own recreational use. Our office will hold accountable any healthcare professional who takes advantage of their position and puts people’s safety at risk. ”

An investigation by the Office of Attorney General revealed that since 2018, Kunkel had been prescribing patients drugs, such as Adderall and Xanax, and keeping a portion of the pills for herself in exchange for writing the prescription. 

In several cases, investigators said, after the patients were no longer receiving prescriptions from the defendant, Kunkel continued to write, fill and pick up the prescriptions for herself without the patients’ knowledge. 

She frequently used former patients’ health insurance to pay for the drugs, and also prescribed drugs for people with whom she had personal relationships, without ever evaluating them as a patient, and often overlooking potential health risks, according to investigators.

Kunkel is charged with eight counts of Acquisition of a Controlled Substance by Fraud, Forgery, Deception, or Subterfuge; one count of Sale, Dispensing, Distribution, Prescription or Gift by Any Practitioner Otherwise Authorized By Law So To Do Of Any Controlled Substance to Any Person Known to Such Practitioner to Be or Whom Such Practitioner Has Reason to Know is a Drug Dependent Person; five counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver/ Delivery of a Controlled Substance; five counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver/Delivery of a Controlled Substance; five counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance, and one count of Insurance Fraud.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Katie Wymard and Senior Deputy Attorney General Todd Goodwin.

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