Gastonia pharmacist sentenced for illegally distributing oxycodone

A pharmacist in Gastonia was sentenced to prison for illegally selling more than 1,500 oxycodone pills, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.

According to documents, Cole Moore, 36, was a licensed pharmacist working at Prescription Plus pharmacy in Gastonia. Law enforcement initiated an investigation into Moore after learning he was selling large quantities of sedative alprazolam and oxycodone to a customer without a prescription.

Court documents show Moore was aware the customer was reselling the pills on the street and even, at times, suggested the price the customer should charge per pill. Investigators said Moore had an arrangement with the customer where he would get a cut of the customer’s sales, and that the customer would pay a portion of the cost of the pills to Moore up front and then pay the rest once the drugs were sold.

Throughout the investigation, law enforcement recovered at least 1,500 oxycodone and alprazolam pills that Moore sold to the customer without a prescription. Moore made over $20,000 selling the pills over the course of a few months, court documents said.

Moore has been sentenced to two years in prison and a term of supervised release. 

“Oxycodone on the streets has ruined lives and communities,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “A licensed pharmacist should not be supplying street dealers and making the problem worse. I am proud of the work of my office in investigating this case, even without all the reporting required by pharmacies.”