Fla. Nurse Stole Fentanyl Painkillers from Patients for His Personal Use, Replaced Drugs with Saline

A Florida nurse who swapped patients’ fentanyl pain medication with saline solution has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison.

Emmanuel Valentin, 40, of Miami, pleaded guilty to tampering with consumer products on Dec. 13, 2024, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Florida. On March 17, he was sentenced to 26 months in prison, court records reviewed by PEOPLE show.

The conduct occurred between July 10, 2023, and Aug. 18, 2023, while Valentin was working as a registered nurse at a Miami hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab, the release states.

Prosecutors said Valentin used a syringe to extract liquid painkillers (medical-grade fentanyl and midazolam) from patients’ vials for his personal use. 

“He replaced them with saline solution, knowing that the liquid in the vials would be dispensed to hospital patients for pain relief during medical procedures, such as cardiac catheterization and stent placement,” the release states.

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Valentin also retrieved empty and discarded vials from the biohazard waste disposal bin, filled them with saline, and used them to replace vials that he stole, prosecutors said. His actions put patients at risk of contracting Hepatitis C and other blood-borne disease infections, they added.

The hospital fired Valentin and notified patients of possible contamination. The patients were offered free blood testing and no acute infections were discovered, per the release.

On May 15, 2024, in a separate state prosecution, Valentin also admitted to stealing fentanyl from another Miami area hospital in March 2023, prosecutors said.