A nurse practitioner in Blackfoot has been ordered to pay the federal government $30,000 in a civil judgment.

Kenneth Lowther was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded he unlawfully prescribed narcotics 15 times, a United States Attorney’s Office — District of Idaho news release said.

“The allegations in this matter describe an outrageous diversion of opioid pills without medical purpose and with the high potential to cause harm to individuals and communities,” said Steven J. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, in the release. “We will continue to partner with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to root out this kind of abuse at every turn.”

A news release announcing the judgment cited one incident in which Lowther prescribed hydrocodone to a patient, but later allowed another person to fill the prescription for them.

The release said that the unlawful prescriptions lacked a legitimate medical purpose and were written outside the usual course of professional practice in violation of federal and state law.

“While there is a place for opioid pain medication in a legitimate medical practice, that place is not the unlawful diversion of such medication for illegal and unauthorized use,” U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez said in the news release.