TX Man Impersonates FBI Agent to Get Drugs, Earns Year of Prison

How did he get such a short sentence?

Our news partner KWTX is reporting that Jonathan Jefferson Ferris of Cedar Park, Texas was found guilty by a federal jury of two counts of impersonating a federal officer at a Temple, Texas pharmacy. Ferris received a 12-month sentence, but he could have gotten up to three years in prison.

Why did he do it? So he could get Fentanyl patches.

How Did Ferris Impersonate An FBI Agent?

On multiple times in July and August 2019, he entered a pharmacy in Temple trying to fill an out-of-state prescription for Fentanyl patches.

He identified himself as 'an out of town FBI Agent' to pharmacy workers.

According to the Department of Justice, Ferris wore a fake lanyard with a fake FBI ID attached.

He also used forged FBI documentation to support the request for filling the prescriptions.

What Does Fentanyl Do?

Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients.

The drug is applied via a patch on the skin.

Since it is a powerful opioid, Fentanyl is also frequently misused and can lead to addiction in users.

Why Did Ferris Only Get One Year of Jail?

There's not much information about how Ferris was apprehended or why he only received a one year sentence instead of the 36 months he could have served for the impersonation of an FBI agent.

According to legal website federalcharges.com, if you misrepresent yourself to a pharmacist or a doctor, you are committing prescription drug fraud.

Prescription drug fraud is charged under the Controlled Substances Act, and can be considered a 3rd or 4th degree felony. A 3rd degree felony can be punished by three to five years in prison, and a 4th degree felony can be punished by up to 18 months in prison.

Seems like Ferris got off pretty light, since technically he could have faced multiple charges of prescription drug fraud as well.

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