6 In Cherokee Prescription Drug Bust Sentenced

CANTON, GA — Six people were sentenced after prosecutors accused them of using a stolen doctor's prescription pad to unlawfully obtain prescriptions.

Cherokee County District Attorney Susan K. Treadaway's office on Monday said some of the various defendants were sentenced as far back as 2022 in the racketeering case. The final defendant was sentenced on Jan. 15.

The group was accused of illegally acquiring Adderall, alprazolam, hydrocodone, phentermine and tramadol, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Leslie Joann Archambault, the 49-year-old suspected leader of the group, was sentenced to 15 years with three to serve in prison on Jan. 26, 2023. The balance will be served on probation.

She was accused of illegally filling prescriptions using a doctor's credentials at a Roswell medical practice where she formerly worked in September 2022, prosecutors said.

The Cherokee Multi-agency Narcotics Squad accused Archambault of using prescription pads to write the prescriptions for herself and her co-defendants while working at the practice, prosecutors said.

The prescriptions were then filled at Cherokee County pharmacies, prosecutors said.

“By utilizing the (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act in the prosecution of this case, we were able to attribute specific acts committed to each co-conspirator while clearly showing that one defendant was the mastermind behind the enterprise,” Treadaway said in a news release. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to combat all forms of organized criminal activity in Cherokee County.”

Prosecutors said sentences for the defendants were as follows:

• Gina Marie Moson, 49, negotiated a guilty plea on Jan. 15 to violation of the RICO Act, sentenced to two years to serve on probation.
• Jeffrey Moson, 46, negotiated a guilty plea on Dec. 6, 2024, to violation of the RICO Act, sentenced to three years to serve on probation.
• Jessica Rose Weaver, 38, negotiated a guilty plea on April 19, 2023, to violation of the RICO Act, sentenced to three years to serve on probation.
• Cathy Rebecca Hudson, 41, negotiated a guilty plea on June 15, 2023, to violation of the RICO Act, sentenced to two years to serve on probation.
• Leslie Joann Archambault, 49, negotiated a guilty plea on Jan. 26, 2023, to violation of the RICO Act, sentenced to 15 years, with the first three years to serve in prison and the remainder to serve on probation.
• Bryan Omae Chirangu, 35, negotiated a guilty plea on Dec. 13, 2022, to fraud or theft in obtaining a controlled substance and possession of a scheduled IV controlled substance, sentenced to five years to serve on probation.