Crime & Safety
Plea Deal Reached in Forged Prescription Ring Case
A 36-year-old man pleaded guilty for his role in the ring Wednesday, while his co-conspirator girlfriend is scheduled to make her own deal with prosecutors.
One half of an Oak Creek duo accused of running a massive forged prescription ring across metro Milwaukee is ready to pay for his crimes.
Daniel Ellery Sonsthagen, 36, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of misappropriation of identification to obtain money as part of a plea deal with Milwaukee County prosecutors.
Under the deal, Sonsthagen faces up to nine years in prison and $30,000 in fines if convicted.
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Sonsthagen's girlfriend, 34-year-old Oak Creek resident Barbara Flanders, is also charged with three felonies for allegedly helping Sonsthagen run the forged prescription ring. Her case is scheduled for a plea hearing Nov. 29.
Seven others who fetched pills for Sonsthagen and Flanders at area pharmacies are making their way through the court system as well.
Find out what's happening in Oak Creekwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to the criminal complaint, Oak Creek police got word in February that forged prescriptions were being passed at pharmacies across Milwaukee County from a prescription pad stolen from the Shafi Medical Center, 1919 W. North Ave., Milwaukee, supposedly written by a doctor who no longer worked at the clinic.
It was later determined Sonsthangen got the pad. He and Flanders wrote out prescriptions and others passed them to obtain pills, according to the complaint.
Sonsthagen will be sentenced Jan. 4. Flanders is scheduled to be sentenced immediately upon entering her plea.
