Assisted Living Care Provider Pleads Guilty to Stealing Narcotics From Patients

A care provider at a senior assisted living facility in Burnsville pleaded guilty on Tuesday to taking prescribed narcotics from patients.

Margaret Alice Mammen, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Mammen, who was charged on April 12 this year, entered her plea before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.

In her plea agreement, Mammen admitted to stealing Oxycontin from patient rooms for personal use between Sept. 22 and Oct. 8, 2009. Mammen testified to replacing the drug with ibuprofen. 

If convicted, Mammen faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison. Judge Nelson will determine her sentence at a hearing that is yet to be scheduled. 

The case is the result of a collaborative investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Criminal Investigation Division, the Burnsville Police Department (BPD) and the Minnesota Department of Health.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Svendsen.