Fake names, fake prescriptions — lots of codeine cough syrup

Online he went by Breadwinner Breadwinner. He’s charged with recruiting women for prescription fraud.

STANWOOD — A Seattle man using a fake name, Breadwinner Breadwinner, offered $100 bills to “innocent looking” women to pick up painkillers with forged prescriptions around the Pacific Northwest, according to detectives.

The man, 21, was charged last week with leading organized crime, identity theft and forgery for a series of frauds in Everett, Marysville and Stanwood that began 2½ years ago.

A Stanwood detective uncovered his “organized and far-reaching enterprise,” prosecutors wrote.

On the evening of Oct. 21, 2016, a man in a puffy green coat told a pharmacist at the Marysville Safeway he was picking up cough syrup with codeine. It’s the active ingredient in a street cocktail known as “lean,” “purple drank” or “sizzurp.” The man was trying to pick up an unusual amount of the drug. He handed over paperwork with a female patient’s name, according to charging papers.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The pharmacy called the doctor, who said she didn’t sign the prescription. Police were called too. By then the man had left.

Under an hour later, a man in a green puffy coat tried to do the same thing at a nearby Rite Aid.

Court papers show the suspect was arrested for investigation of forging a prescription for the same drug near Gresham, Oregon, where he’d used a fake last name. Security footage showed him wearing a green ski coat, according to the charges. Within a week of being released from jail, local detectives believe he used the same fake name to try to get prescription cough syrup from a Safeway in Everett on Nov. 12, 2016.

Prosecutors allege the defendant would call ahead claiming to be the patient or a family member, and that a son or daughter would be showing up to pick up the painkiller. Then he would wait until 5 p.m. or later, when many medical offices have closed for the day, so the pharmacy could not confirm the records.

In the Everett case, someone called in advance claiming to be a mother, saying she was new to the area, and that her son would stop by soon for her medication.

A young man showed up in the late afternoon and gave the same 206 area code phone number from the Marysville frauds, charging papers say.

Again, he wanted to pick up an unusual amount of codeine. The pharmacist found the supposed prescriber did not work at the office listed on the paperwork.

By summer 2017, the man was using another tactic: recruiting women through Facebook, where he went by Breadwinner Breadwinner, to carry out fraud for him, the charges say.

One woman was caught trying to use a bogus prescription June 20, 2017, at a pharmacy in Anacortes. She reportedly told detectives she’d been recruited by a friend she’d known since eighth grade, and he’d offered her $100 to $200 per bottle of the codeine-laced syrup she could acquire through forgery. She recounted being picked up by the man in a gray BMW, and driving with him to a library in Lynnwood to make prints on special prescription paper. Her job, she reported, “was to be the innocent-looking person who presented the prescription.”

Another woman tried to get 60 tabs of oxycodone from a Safeway on Bainbridge Island on Aug. 2, 2017, with a prescription from a doctor who no longer worked at the clinic on the paperwork.

She told police she’d responded to a Facebook post where Breadwinner Breadwinner had asked people if they wanted to make some money.

Police asked her if she’d seen any pictures of the man on his Facebook page, according to a search warrant filed in the case.

“Yeah, with hella cash,” she replied.

Police responded to the Rite Aid in Stanwood on Aug. 23, 2017. A third woman told officers that a man — whom she identified by his legal name — offered her $100 to use a forged prescription.

Police stopped a gray BMW outside the Rite Aid. The man insisted to officers that he’d just been at the pharmacy to get a drink, but he had changed his mind.

Later the woman recounted how she’d known the man since middle school and had reconnected over Facebook. He gave her a story to tell the pharmacist: Her name would be Isabella, and she was picking up a prescription for her mother. He reportedly told her he’d stolen the paperwork from his own mother. She gave police the man’s phone number — the same digits from the Everett and Marysville cases.

Police got a warrant to review cell tower data for the man’s phone. It showed he’d been making calls in the Marysville area Oct. 21, 2016; in Everett on Nov. 12, 2016; in Anacortes on June 20, 2017; and in Stanwood on Aug. 23, 2017.

He was charged with five felony counts last week.

A summons was mailed to his family home in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle.

His arraignment is set for May 17.

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Aaron Weinstock uses an x-ray machine toy inside the Imagine Children Museum on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Imagine Children’s Museum $250k grant reinstated following federal court order

The federal grant supports a program that brings free science lessons to children throughout rural Snohomish County.

Snohomish County 911 Executive Director Kurt Mills talks about the improvements made in the new call center space during a tour of the building on Tuesday, May 20, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New 911 center in Everett built to survive disaster

The $67.5 million facility brings all emergency staff under one roof with seismic upgrades, wellness features and space to expand.

Everett
Five arrested in connection with Everett toddler’s 2024 overdose death

More than a year after 13-month-old died, Everett police make arrests in overdose case.

Madison Family Shelter Family Support Specialist Dan Blizard talks about one of the pallet homes on Monday, May 19, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Madison Family Shelter reopens after hiatus

The Pallet shelter village, formerly Faith Family Village, provides housing for up to eight families for 90 days.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Everett Historic Theater owner Curtis Shriner inside the theater on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Historic Everett Theatre sale on horizon, future uncertain

With expected new ownership, events for July and August will be canceled. The schedule for the fall and beyond is unclear.

Everett
Man stabbed in face outside Everett IHOP, may lose eye

Police say the suspect fled in the victim’s car, leading officers on a 6-mile chase before his arrest.

People swim in the Yost Pool during Open Fitness and Lap Swim on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Feeling the heat in Snohomish County: How hot will it get where you live?

Everett is expected to hit low 80s with inland areas reaching near 90.

The Mukilteo Boulevard Homer on Monday, May 12, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Homer Hedge’: A Simpsons meme takes root in Everett — D’oh!

Homer has been lurking in the bushes on West Mukilteo Boulevard since 2023. Stop by for a selfie.

Pat Cronin and Jamie Lyon look over a zoning district map draft of Everett on display during an Everett Planning Department open house at Everett Station on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett to release final draft of comp plan

The city will release the draft of the planning document on May 30, staff said. It will likely go to a vote before the council in June.

Traffic moves across the US 2 trestle between Everett and Lake Stevens on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Washington climate goals jeopardized by U.S. Senate vote

The U.S. Senate revoked waivers allowing Washington to mandate strict vehicle emission standards

The Everett City Council on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett City Council approves apprenticeship ordinance

The new ordinance builds upon state law, requiring many city public works contracts to use at least 15% apprentice labor.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.