FROM COURT
RECORDS
A former Fulton County Hospital IT Department employee found herself behind bars on Sept. 19 after an investigation into forged electronic prescriptions led back to Jennifer L. Cooper, 40, of Salem.
According to the Probable Cause Affidavit filed on Sept. 3 in Baxter County Circuit Court, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy William Fawcett received a call from Baxter Health Administrator Nicole Vaccarella after discovering the hospital’s electronic system used to call in prescriptions was being utilized by an unauthorized person. Fawcett then contacted a special agent with the 16th Judicial District Drug Task Force to investigate.
The investigation began in May when the Special Agent contacted Arkansas State Police Special Agent Drew Widner with the 16th Judicial District’s Drug Task Force requesting assistance with a forgery investigation.
Cooper allegedly forged a doctor’s name to obtain prescriptions at Walmart and Walgreens in Mountain Home. 58 weight loss prescriptions of Phentermine, a Schedule IV narcotic, were sent to the pharmacies between Sept. 2023 and March 2024.
The prescriptions were allegedly authorized by Dr. Jim Bozeman, who Baxter Health employs. Bozeman does not use the system and still hand-writes all of his prescriptions.
The discrepancy was found when the older system was replaced with a new cloud-based “DR First” system that healthcare professionals access to write and authorize prescriptions. The new software system alerted Baxter Health that Bozeman was still accessing the old system to approve prescriptions for Jennifer Cooper and her family.
Cooper was employed at the IT department of the Fulton County Hospital when Baxter Health took over, but she quit or was laid off.
On May 24, the DTF Special Agent, Salem Police Chief Shad Overman, a second DTF Special Agent, and Fulton County Sheriff’s Officer Investigator John Smith, executed a search warrant at Cooper’s residence on Main Street in Salem.
After being Mirandized, Cooper admitted to the officers to forging Bozeman’s signature on the prescriptions for about six months and told them her husband was unaware of her illegal activity. Cooper also consented and signed a search form to allow her computer and cell phone to be searched and viewed. She showed the DTF Agent the form she used to forge the prescriptions.
Cooper was arrested on Sept. 19 and charged with 42 counts of forgery, Class C Felonies. Cooper posted a $10,000 bond on Sept. 20 with Triple R Bail Bonds and appeared in court on Sept. 23 before Circuit Judge John Putman. She pled not guilty. Cooper was ordered to appear in person at all court dates. Pre-trial was set for Feb. 10, 2025 with a March 17, 2025 trial date.