A former Gadsden-area pharmacist and city school board member has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to drug distribution conspiracy and tax crimes.

U.S. District Court Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Nathan Thomas Carter to 54 months – about 4 1/2 years – in prison, according to a Thursday announcement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona, FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples, DEA Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley, and IRS Acting Special Agent in Charge Demetrius Hardeman.

Carter, a 41-year-old Gadsden man, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and three counts of filing false tax returns.

He was also ordered to forfeit $110,620 in illicit drug proceeds and pay restitution $124,547 in unpaid taxes to the IRS.

According to the plea agreement, Carter between 2015 and late 2021 conspired with others to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Carter worked as the pharmacist in charge at Midtown Pharmacy from 2018 through 2023. Authorities said the pharmacy ordered at least 80,000 more oxycodone pills than the pharmacy dispensed to patients.

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, where he repackaged the pills in plastic bags for resale.

Carter admitted to earning about $450,000 in illicit income, which he failed to report on his income tax returns.

According to the plea agreement, authorities found more than $110,000 in cash during a search warrant at his home.

At the time of federal indictment, Carter was a Gadsden City Schools board member, but he has since resigned.

The FBI, DEA, and IRS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J.B. Ward prosecuted the case.