Spouse's guilt for other spouse's actions(?) and vital quest.'s abt Rx fraud

[alongbaddream]

I'm really glad I found this forum as it seems to have a lot of understanding people who have similar experiences. I know this isn't a 'law' forum, but from what I've read the posters have very worthwhile advice.
Can a spouse be charged for knowledge of an illegal activity -- passing fraudulent prescriptions -- by the other spouse before, during and/or after it occurs? At first I thought it qualifies them as an accessory, but after looking up some laws online I saw something about a spouse not being accountable because they wanted to allow complete disclosure within a marriage without fear of legal repurcussions. This may have been for a different region or reason though, and I also don't know if the other spouse could be connected in a different way. But who could turn in their husband or wife when they have such a terrible problem?
The only evidence of being caught was a knock on the door by two unfamilar men a while back on the day an Rx was 'passed'.  The door wasn't answered and they haven't been back, but they looked like investigators.
So it's been a LONG period of looking out windows 24/7 everytime a car goes by. I know, what does someone expect when they do something illegal? But it's been completely unreal how quickly life can change. You never appreciate just knowing that you can sit in your own home without constantly wondering if your life is about to cave in.  This is the kind of terrifying situation you never think could happen to you, and it's hard to believe how any wise forsight seems to disappear until it's too late. It's like conning yourself -- an unexpected effect of that 'exaggerated sense of well-being'.
Like so many others, taking the meds started legit, then got to a place where nothing matters except avoiding the torture of withdrawal.
Would they show up at 3:00 am for something like this, typically? Are search warrants usually involved? And again, because a child is in the picture, it's vital to know whether or not a spouse could be implicated and if so, why.
It's already been a life-changing experience -- for the better in a lot of ways, but the worry, paranoia and just NOT KNOWING could really do somebody in. This is completely foreign territory as neither have ever been in trouble with the law.
Absolutely DYING for some kind of information and help of anykind.  
Thanks in advance for any responses, and I hope this is the right area to post a question like this.    
Oh, one other question: would it be unusual for police to have evidence and then wait for a couple of months, even while the same thing happens more? It seems like the name would come up in the pharmacy computer at least.
Who knows. The 'spouses' are incredibly freaked out. I guess 'they' deserve it, but it would be nice to maybe inject a little reality into the situation. Maybe...
Thank you.

[alongbaddream]

Hi avisg
No, I've stayed completely out of it as far as I can recall.
You're right about the 'rock bottom'; but even though it's been recognized as that, the patterns have barely changed. It's complicated because I take meds for legit reasons -- although sometimes I get the feeling there are no 'legit' reasons considering the huge stigma attached by everyone from law enforcement to pharmacists to drs themselves -- and so it's hard to seem like my behaviour is any better; and I'd guess that anyone working for the Law might not think it was any better either. But I'm TRYING to improve our circumstances, and for S.O. that doesn't seem to be the case.
To put it mildly though, this has caused us both to re-evaluate our lives. It's just incredibly difficult to move forward with this hanging over our heads, and absolutely no idea when it's going to fall. I'm constantly waiting for a knock on the door. Anyone that reads this who is considering doing something similar, DON'T. It can be hard to forsee that you will never feel safe afterwards.      

[avisg]

along,
I am not sure either .I would bet it is diffrent state to state .Did you ever pick up the fraulent skrips for him? I would think that would be the only area you might have a prolem and I am not sure even then you would.I think it might be a good idea to talk to a laywer about this.Then you have to take care of you !!!!! Does your hubby want help? For many they have to hit a very hard Rock bottom  before they get help....

[alongbaddream]

First, thank you very much for sharing your story with me. It DOES help to read it. But more than that I'm so sorry for what you've been through. Being a parent I can guess at the kind of pain you went through. I hope the years have helped some and you've been able to move on and be happy.
I may have follow up question if it's ok, but I wanted to go ahead and respond and I apologize for taking so long. I grabbed some sleep after staying up all night.

[LoandTansMom24]

Ok. I may offer SOME help. First, I have been caught by the law in a similar situation. This was 5 yrs ago. I first became an addict in 2003 when our first born, a son, died 4 hrs after he was born due to a heart defect and some other issues. Before this, I had never taken anything except tylenol. Anyhow, going thru this tragedy, and the pain of childbirth, I quickly realized the oxycodone the dr. gave me made me feel MUCH better, both physically and mentally. It didn't take long and I was hooked. About a yr. later, I had called in 15 scripts for loracets w/ in about 45 days. I pretended I was a nurse from the dentist's office I used. I called them in using different names.....my husband, my mom, my dad, my brother. Well, it caught up w/ me. I went to pick the script up one day and they told me they couldn't give it to me. Never heard nothing for about a week. Then, my husband had his wisdom teeth taken out by a different dentist and when I went to pick up HIS pain meds @ a different pharmacy, the pharmacist told me I couldn't pick it up and a lady from DHEC had been in asking questions and she gave me a phone # and said my husband needed to call. BTW, my husband knew absolutely nothing about what I had been doing AND I was 4 mths pregnant w/ our 2nd child. So, I gathered all the courage I could find, sat my husband down and told him how I had been calling in fraudulent scripts. He called the DHEC lady and told her EVERYTHING! She wanted to talk to me. I broke down and told her how my addiction started. She was about to issue a warrant for my husband, my dad, and me! But I explained to her that they had no idea I had been doing that. I ended up meeting her @ our local court house. She "booked" me, fingerprinted me, and got me off on a PR bond. I think she felt sorry for me b/c of what I had been through losing our baby and all and also b/c I was pregnant again. She told me jail was not a place I needed to be, especially being pregnant. So, I did the PTI program and that was that. It was VERY scary. I know exactly what you mean about looking out the window, wondering if your life's about to take a drastic change. It's terrifying!! I could barely sleep some nights. I can't believe I told you this story. VERY few people know this, but I felt like you needed to hear it.

[wildwoodone]

As far as the law goes, not sure about whether you would be an accomplice, that would be hard to prove but I do know that a person cannot be made to testify against their spouse.

[Kleo38]

WOW what a wake up call that is.I have never done anything like that but it sure could have lead to that if I kept using.I am so so sorry for the position you are in and I have no advice to give you other than get clean and stop the illegal scripts.Try to get yourself clean so you can deal with your spouse.If your spouse doesn't want help then you can't do anything but get yourself clean in order to take care of your child.Your child deserves one sober and clean parent.I wish you all the luck in the world and I really hope thing work out well for you.

[alongbaddream]

Thanks, allaboutmary. Too paranoid, I guess, to post 'who's who', but yes, anything not legal has been stopped. Need to find some kind of help, though. Dealing/living with someone pretty much paralyzed (not medically of course) who won't take any kind of steps in the right direction in any area of life. Can't talk about it to anyone because it's so personal and 'taboo'. When asked they keep saying they'll go to a dr or psychologist but never do. They don't act depressed on outside -- emotions, demeanor, etc) but what was once a successful, productive life just stopped. Now this. I don't know what to do.
I have illnesses and some 'problem behaviours' too, but I'm trying hard and I'm looking to the future, which is not the case w/ S.O. If you're standing still you're actually moving backwards as living seems to be something like paddling up stream, and this person has been moving backwards in this way a long time. Quite a tragedy happened in their life and it's impact isn't evident on the surface where it could be addressed.      

[allaboutmary]

Sorry I have no idea how the law works in this situation. I do have some advise though......stop all the behavior that is putting you in jeopardy. Stop with the scripts and get clean. If you do have a problem with the law it will look better that you got clean and stopped the scripts.