SULLIVAN COUNTY – An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of a travel nurse accused of prescription fraud and neglecting a vulnerable adult.
In April, after receiving information from Ballad Health, special agents with TBI’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division and Drug Investigation Division began investigating allegations involving Everett Collier Ragan (DOB: 10/30/77). During the investigation, agents gathered evidence that indicated Ragan, who at the time was a travel nurse working at Bristol Regional Medical Center, diverted pain medication meant for a patient for his own benefit.
Last month, the Sullivan County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Ragan with two counts of Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult and three counts of Prescription Drug Fraud. Today, agents located Ragan in Nashville, and with assistance from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, he was taken into custody. He is currently being held in the Davidson County Jail, awaiting transport to Sullivan County.
The charges and allegations referenced in this release are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.
NOTE: The TBI’s Medicaid Fraud Control Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $11,616,724 for federal Fiscal Year 2025-2026. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $3,872,240 for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, is funded by the State of Tennessee.
