KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) former nurse at Cheshire Medical Center has been indicted on multiple felony charges in connection with a months-long drug diversion scheme involving powerful opioid medications.

Steven Finnell, 31, was indicted last week by a Cheshire County Superior Court grand jury on four felony counts of illegally obtaining controlled drugs. Prosecutors allege that between June 2024 and January 2025, Finnell exploited his access to the hospital’s prescription system to divert fentanyl, dilaudid, morphine, and oxycodone for personal use. Investigators say he administered partial doses to patients and kept the remainder for himself.

Finnell’s nursing license was initially suspended in January by the New Hampshire Board of Nursing following an internal hospital investigation. He later voluntarily surrendered the license in May. His conduct reportedly came to light on January 16, 2025, prompting an immediate review and referral to law enforcement. Finnell is no longer employed at the hospital and is scheduled to be arraigned on July 10.

This case marks another incident in a pattern of drug diversion at Cheshire Medical Center. In 2022, the hospital was fined $2 million after federal investigators uncovered the disappearance of 21 gallons of fentanyl solution over a two-year period. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration imposed a three-year corrective action plan on the hospital beginning in 2023.

Finnell’s alleged misconduct occurred nearly three years after another nurse admitted to stealing hundreds of bags of fentanyl solution. That nurse died shortly after the confession, and the case led to disciplinary action against three additional hospital employees.