Gadsden school board member Carter pleads guilty to federal drug, tax charges

Greg Bailey, The Gadsden Times
·2 min read

A Gadsden City Board of Education member pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal drug distribution and tax crimes, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern Alabama.

Nathan Thomas Carter, 41, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor in Birmingham. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and three counts of filing false federal income tax returns.

Carter in a plea agreement with prosecutors admitted to conspiring with others to distribute controlled substances, including hydrocodone and oxycodone, over a six-year period between 2015 and 2021, according to the release.

Carter worked as the pharmacist in charge at Gadsden’s Midtown Pharmacy from early 2018 to this year, according to the release, and records indicate that between 2018 and 2021, the business ordered up to 80,000 more doses of 30 mg oxycodone than it dispensed to customers.

According to the plea agreement, Carter diverted opioid pills from the pharmacy and sold those pills to other drug distributors. He regularly took distributor bottles from his pharmacy to his house, then repackaged the pills in plastic bags for resale.

He earned about $150,000 in illicit income per year, according to the release, which he didn’t include on his 2019 through 2021 tax returns.

Authorities found more than $110,000 in cash while executing a search warrant at Carter’s home, according to the release.

The maximum penalty for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances is 20 years in prison. The maximum penalty for filing false federal income tax returns is three years in prison for each count.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the IRS.

Carter represents District 2 on the school board. He won the seat in 2019, the first time board members were elected, with 70% of the vote and did not face opposition in 2022.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden school board member pleads guilty to federal tax, drug charges