Federal prosecutors say a Bergen County man has admitted his role in a scheme to steal more than $8.2 million worth of prescription HIV medication from a Veterans Affairs hospital in Essex County.

Wagner “Wanny” Checonolasco pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to steal government property. The 34-year-old Lyndhurst man now faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced on Dec. 15.

Prosecutors say the scheme ran from August 2017 through November 2019. They say Checonolasco conspired with a former pharmacy technician at the hospital in East Orange and others to steal the medication.