Mullingar doctor who forged prescriptions to feed opioid addiction set to escape conviction

A doctor and his fiancée who appeared in court charged with the theft of prescription pads from three major hospitals and the use of forged prescriptions for oxycontin in pharmacies throughout the midlands, are set to escape a conviction pending payments to an addiction support service.

In March, Daniel Nevin (39), of Greenpark Meadows, Mullingar, Co Westmeath entered guilty pleas to 10 sample counts on the indictment, including theft of prescription pads from Galway University Hospital and Midlands Regional Hospital Mullinger, forgery of prescriptions and using false prescriptions between July 2021 and June 2024.

On the same day, his partner and co-accused, Rebecca Moylan (35), of the same address, pleaded guilty to the theft of a prescription pad from St James’ Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, and to using false prescriptions at pharmacies across the midlands between September 2023 and May 2024.

Judge Keenan Johnson, following a lengthy sentence hearing at Mullingar Circuit Court, said that the couple were the victims of their own crime, and stating that the case did not meet the threshold for a custodial sentence.

He noted the pressures of a medical career, stating that “superhuman” doctors often do not get the care and support they need when carrying out their duties, which often include numerous 24-hour shifts in the space of a week.

Mr Nevin, he said, had not done any harm to his patients and had, in fact, stepped back from his duties to ensure his own addiction did not put them at risk.

Detective Garda Kevin Lennon told Cathal Ó’Braonáin BL, prosecuting, that Gardaí received a report on May 3, 2024, from a Mullingar pharmacist who was conducting an audit and noticed a number of prescriptions for a patient named Margaret Mullen on Galway University Hospital headed paper.

He was satisfied that these prescriptions - nine in total between July 2023 and April 2024, tendered to Haven Pharmacy - were not legitimate.

Each prescription was for Oxycontin or Oxynorm, both of which are highly addictive opioids, and each one was signed by Daniel Nevin.

CCTV footage in the pharmacy showed Ms Moylan using the prescriptions, which she said she was picking up for someone else.

It was soon discovered that Ms Moylan was also a customer of Boots pharmacy and, when inquiries were made, staff said they had received a number of prescriptions under the name Margaret Mullen, with CCTV showing the same female tendering the prescription.

Those prescriptions - seven in total - were on headed paper from Galway University Hospital, St James’ Hospital and Midlands Regional Hospital Mullingar, and were used between June 2023 and December 2023.

Gardaí became concerned about further forgeries and liaised with Pat Murphy, Community Care Pharmacist for the Midlands region, who put the word out to pharmacies in the area, leading to further discoveries of forged prescriptions.

On May 18, 2024, Ms Moylan returned to one of the pharmacies, where she attempted to tender a similar prescription, but was refused. The pharmacy kept the prescription and informed Gardaí.

On June 4, Gardaí attended her address with a warrant and searched the property. There, they seized a large number of items, including large quantities of medication such as oxycontin, prescription claim forms, prescriptions under various names, prescription pads and blank prescriptions.

Ms Moylan was arrested on that day. She was cooperative with Gardaí and told them she and Mr Nevin were in a relationship. She said her partner was addicted to oxycontin and admitted tendering prescriptions to obtain the drug for him.

She also admitted to the theft of a prescription pad from St James’ Hospital, stating she had found it in a cabinet and that it was “redundant” because the hospital had switched to an electronic system.

Following the discovery of 28 copies of prescriptions at the couple’s home, Gardaí suspected the two accused had tendered forged prescriptions to other pharmacies under fictitious names. Investigations led to a large number of charges for forgery and using a false prescription.

In total Mr Nevin was facing 49 charges, including two for theft of prescription pads, while Ms Moylan was facing 32 charges.

Mr Nevin was arrested on July 11, 2024, and told Gardaí he was a medical doctor at Mullingar Hospital. He acknowledged that his phone number and details were on the prescriptions and said he was addicted to opioids.

He admitted to taking prescription pads from the two hospitals and forging the prescriptions before having his partner tender a large number of them on his behalf.

Neither of the accused had any previous convictions, the court heard, and both were highly respected in their field - Mr Nevin as a doctor, and Ms Moylan as a nurse.

Mr Nevin, taking to the witness box, told Colm Smyth SC that “hearing those charges back brings me back to a very dark time in my life when addiction was at the very forefront”.

He accepted he caused a lot of “self-hurt”, but also damage to a lot of people around him and said he was “very fortunate” to have such a supportive relationship.

He outlined that his addiction dated back to November 2019 and that the “stresses and strains” of work had a large part to play, with obligations to work up to three 24-hour shifts per week.

He spent a short time working as an anesthesiologist but stepped back from the role because “my conscience didn’t allow me to continue - I didn’t want to do harm to a patient, so I stepped away”.

“It’s not a discipline that goes well with someone who has an addiction,” he said. “I couldn’t live with myself if I harmed someone.”

His passion now lies in medical education, he said, and he has received multiple glowing references, including one from Professor David Lloyd of the University of South Australia, stating that Mr Nevin “has such talent that should be put to the benefit of the community”.

Mr Nevin himself stressed to the court that, while he is “painfully aware” of his actions, “I don’t think it reflects who I am as a person. I believe I have something more to offer the community as a whole”.

Ms Moylan stated that she had collected the prescriptions for her partner in the hope that, between them, they could manage his addiction.

Her counsel, Dara Foynes SC, pointed out to the court that “nobody was out of pocket” with these offences because all prescriptions were paid for. Both Ms Foynes and Mr Smyth requested that the judge consider applying the Probation Act in this case, to allow the couple to avoid a criminal conviction.

Judge Johnson noted the “significant number of offences” and that they were “repeat offences”, which were “driven by addiction”.

“Opioid addiction is a well recognised phenomenon. It has become a problem in America where hundreds of thousands of people have been affected, and it is a cause for many premature deaths,” he said.

“It is often said that desperate people do desperate things. Addiction is a terrible affliction.”

He stressed that the offences before the court were an abuse of the integrity of the prescription system, but that in this case, Mr Nevin abused the system for his own benefit and did not cause harm to anyone else.

Ms Moylan, he said, has paid “an enormous price” for her actions, resigning from her job as a nurse: “she will never work as a nurse again, which is a tragedy because she was clearly an excellent nurse.”

He said Ms Moylan strikes him as “an inherently good person” and that her actions were “totally out of character”.

Mr Nevin is a “high achiever” who has done “exceptionally well, both academically and in medicine”, the judge said. He noted the pressures of the career and said it is "extraordinary that someone is required to do three 24-hour shifts in one week”.

“That is superhuman. It is a hugely, hugely stressful environment, and often the support and care that doctors themselves need in the course of their duties is not available.”

“I’m satisfied both have paid a huge price for their actions. Both have lost their positions and their reputations,” said Judge Johnson, adding that “the offending does not meet the custodial threshold”.

However, he made the order that Mr Nevin pay a sum of €15,000 to the Merchants Quay Project, which offers addiction support and rehabilitation. Ms Moylan has been ordered to pay a sum of €5,000 to the same organisation.

Mr Smyth indicated to the court that the funds could be paid before the end of the week, in which case Judge Johnson would apply the Probation Act, allowing both accused to put the case behind them without conviction.