Gov. Bush’s daughter jailed on prescription fraud charge

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Jeb Bush’s 24-year-old daughter was arrested at a pharmacy drive-through window Tuesday on charges of trying to buy the anti-anxiety drug Xanax with a fraudulent prescription.

Authorities said Noelle Bush apparently posed as a doctor and called in the phony prescription after suffering a panic attack Monday evening.

Bush, who was supposed to start a new job Tuesday as an administrative assistant at Infinity Software – and its president said Tuesday the job offer stands – was jailed and released pending a Jan. 31 arraignment. She could get up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

Xanax, a prescription drug similar to Valium, is normally used to treat anxiety disorders.

“For people who are taking it for anxiety disorder, the incidence of abuse is quite low, but usually occurs in people who have history of abusing other drugs and is rarely abused alone,” said Dr. David Spiegel of Boston University’s Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba, issued a statement saying they were “deeply saddened” and “substance abuse is an issue confronting many families across our nation.”

According to police, a woman called a Walgreens pharmacy late Monday to see if a prescription had been called in for Noelle Bush. The pharmacist, Carlos Zimmerman, checked the voice mail and heard a woman claiming to be Dr. Noel Scidmore requesting a prescription for Xanax.

Zimmerman told police the prescription sounded suspicious because there was no quantity indicated. Within 20 minutes, the woman called back to check on the prescription and Zimmerman told her he needed her to specify a quantity. He received a voice mail message about 10 minutes later specifying the quantity.

He then called the doctor’s answering service. Another doctor returned the call and said the prescription should be treated as fraudulent.

When the woman called back to check on the prescription again, the pharmacist told her it would be ready shortly. Noelle Bush drove up about 1 a.m. and was waiting there when police arrived.