Highlights:
- Former nurse admitted to fraud exceeding $55,000
- Dozens of opioid orders placed using forged signatures
- Thousands of vials of sufentanil and hydromorphone obtained
- Accused said addiction stemmed from health issues
- Sentencing scheduled for June
An Indian-origin former nurse in Quebec has pleaded guilty to fraud and drug possession after admitting she defrauded a Montreal medical clinic of more than $55,000 to obtain opioid medications illegally.
Lovedip Sandhu, a 35-year-old Canadian citizen and resident of Pierrefonds, entered her guilty plea in mid-January to charges of fraud over $5,000 and simple possession of narcotics. The offenses relate to her employment at a private plastic surgery clinic in Montreal in 2021, according to reporting by French-language newspaper La Presse.
Sandhu was employed as a nursing assistant at Clinique K, a plastic surgery clinic located in Westmount. Her responsibilities included preparing patients for surgery, coordinating medication orders, and communicating with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the clinic. Prosecutors say she exploited this position of trust to carry out an extensive fraud scheme over several months.
Between March and September 2021, Sandhu allegedly conducted 75 fraudulent transactions without the clinic’s knowledge or authorization. Court records state that she forged the signature of the clinic’s owner, Dr. Karl Schwarz, to place orders for opioid medications. She then collected the drugs from various pharmacies and paid for them using the clinic’s credit cards.
As a result of the scheme, Sandhu obtained a significant quantity of controlled substances. Authorities reported that she acquired 3,778 one-milliliter vials of sufentanil and 2,138 one-milliliter vials of hydromorphone, both powerful opioid medications commonly used in medical settings for pain management.
At the time the offenses were committed, Sandhu was a registered member of the Quebec Order of Nurses and Nursing Assistants. However, she is no longer part of the professional body, having been expelled in 2022 following the investigation into her actions.
After her arrest in September 2021, Sandhu told police that she had developed an opioid addiction earlier that year as a result of ongoing health issues. According to investigators, she initially began taking medication from the clinic’s existing supply before her usage escalated, leading her to place unauthorized orders.
Police conducted searches at Sandhu’s residences, where they discovered empty syringes and medication vials, multiple boxes of drugs, and approximately $11,000 in cash. These findings were presented as part of the evidence supporting the fraud and possession charges.
The case has drawn attention to issues of oversight, access to controlled substances in medical environments, and the challenges faced by healthcare workers dealing with addiction. While Sandhu has accepted responsibility through her guilty plea, the court has yet to determine her sentence.
Sentencing submissions have been postponed until June, at which time the court will consider the severity of the offenses, the scale of the fraud, and any mitigating factors presented by the defense.
