Overview

• Kristen Carotenuto received a five-month federal prison term, three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine for tampering with controlled substances.
• She pleaded guilty on August 7 to tampering with a consumer product and has surrendered her nursing license.
• In December 2024, federal investigators found that she removed vials of hydromorphone and fentanyl from secure storage at a Stamford surgical center, used the drugs, then refilled the vials with saline.
• Carotenuto remains free on a $25,000 bond and is required to report to prison on October 1, 2025.
• The case was led by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, the DEA’s Hartford Diversion Control Division and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, with no evidence that any patients received the tampered medications.