New York statute
N.Y. Penal Law § 178.26 — Fraud and deceit related to controlled substances
Current through 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17)
Part of Article 178: Criminal Diversion of Prescription Medications and Prescriptions, New York Penal Law.
Full text of N.Y. Penal Law § 178.26
Statutory text current through the 2026 legislative session (LBDC text via OpenLegislation as of 2026-07-17). This publication reproduces the text of the Consolidated Laws of New York as provided by the New York State Senate's Open Legislation service (Legislative Bill Drafting Commission statutory text); it is not the official statutes of the State of New York.
178.26 Fraud and deceit related to controlled substances.
1. No person shall willfully:
(a) obtain or attempt to obtain a controlled substance, a prescription
for a controlled substance or an official New York state prescription
form,
(i) by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge; or
(ii) by the concealment of a material fact; or
(iii) by the use of a false name or the giving of a false address;
(b) make a false statement in any prescription, order, application,
report or record required by article thirty-three of the public health
law;
(c) falsely assume the title of, or represent himself or herself to be
a licensed manufacturer, distributor, pharmacy, pharmacist,
practitioner, researcher, approved institutional dispenser, owner or
employee of a registered outsourcing facility or other authorized
person, for the purpose of obtaining a controlled substance as these
terms are defined in article thirty-three of the public health law;
(d) make or utter any false or forged prescription or false or forged
written order;
(e) affix any false or forged label to a package or receptacle
containing controlled substances; or
(f) imprint on or affix to any controlled substance a false or forged
code number or symbol.
2. Possession of a false or forged prescription for a controlled
substance by any person other than a pharmacist in the lawful pursuance
of his or her profession shall be presumptive evidence of his or her
intent to use the same for the purpose of illegally obtaining a
controlled substance.
3. Possession of a blank official New York state prescription form by
any person to whom it was not lawfully issued shall be presumptive
evidence of such person's intent to use same for the purpose of
illegally obtaining a controlled substance.
4. Any person who, in the course of treatment, is supplied with a
controlled substance or a prescription therefor by one practitioner and
who with the intent to deceive, intentionally withholds or intentionally
fails to disclose the fact, is supplied during such treatment with a
controlled substance or a prescription therefor by another practitioner
shall be guilty of a violation of this article.
5. The provisions of subdivision one of section thirty-three hundred
ninety-six of the public health law shall apply to this section.
Fraud and deceit related to controlled substances is a class A
misdemeanor.
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