New allegations surface against drug user

A former Minden woman who admitted posing as a physician to illegally obtain thousands of prescription pills may face felony charges of fraud in the administration of her late mother's estate.

Prosecutor Karen Dustman requested Tuesday that District Judge Dave Gamble continue sentencing Roberta Jones, 48, who now lives in Berkeley, Calif., while new allegations are investigated.

"It's possible there will be some new felony charges against Ms. Jones. We should know in two or three weeks. The nature of the charges arose out of the administration of her mother's estate," Dustman said.

Dustman said she had just received a presentence report on Jones and had not had a chance to review it.

Gamble continued sentencing to Aug. 3.

He advised Jones, who is out of custody, that she continue with counseling and treatment.

"The very worst thing you could do is relapse," Gamble said.

She faces up to four years in prison, or may be admitted to drug court in California.

"It was my intent to allow you this election of treatment," Gamble said.

She pleaded guilty in May to attempting to obtain controlled substances by fraud. The crime can be treated as a felony or gross misdemeanor.

She is accused of committing the crimes between November 2008 and October 2009 while residing in Minden.

According to reports, Jones, impersonating a physician or nurse, called five pharmacies and obtained 2,110 hydrocodone and oxycodone pills between March and October 2009.

In one month, she reportedly obtained 560 pills.

Jones said she became drug dependent when she had a kidney stone and was taking 20-30 prescription pain relievers a day.