New York officials recently released the indictment of five local physicians accused of drug crimes. The government stated the physicians were “drug dealers in white coats” who knowingly and intentionally sold addictive and dangerous medications, fueling the opioid epidemic.
The charges were the result of investigations led by three different Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offices. Medical professionals charged include:
- Queens physician and nurse practitioner. These medical professionals operated a medical clinic in Queens. Officials charged them of providing over 6 million oxycodone pills prescriptions without a legitimate medical reason. The physician faces twenty years imprisonment.
- Staten Island physician. The government accused this medical professional of providing over 1 million prescriptions for oxycodone, including prescriptions to an individual allegedly known to sell the pills on New York streets. He faces up to twenty years imprisonment.
- Manhattan psychiatrist. Officials accused this individual of providing prescriptions in exchange for cash payments. He faces three different criminal charges, each comes with up to twenty years of imprisonment.
- Staten Island physician. Agents also charged a second doctor out of Staten Island of providing medically unnecessary oxycodone prescriptions, often for patients that he never saw. He faces four criminal charges, each comes with up to twenty years in jail.
- Bronx doctor. A physician out of the Bronx and Westchester was accused of providing prescriptions for oxycodone without a medical purpose in exchange for cash, expensive dinners and lavish vacations. These allegations resulted in two criminal charges that come with twenty years imprisonment each, a third that comes with ten years, a fourth that comes with five and a fifth that comes with a two-year prison sentence.
These charges are the most recent in a string of crackdowns aimed to address the current opioid crisis. They serve as a reminder that physicians should take allegations of wrongdoing seriously. Contact an attorney to protect your legal rights.