13 NJ Doctors Lose Jobs For Alleged Bad Behavior Amid Crackdown – Manasquan, NJ Patch

NEW JERSEY – Thirteen doctors lost their jobs in New Jersey for bad behavior over the last two months, joining a growing list of doctors who’ve run into trouble as the state continues to crack down on physicians who “recklessly disregarded their professional and ethical obligations,” according to the Office of Attorney General.

Some of these 13 doctors were accused of giving out “goody bags” of drugs or even sexual assault. Indeed, one Passaic County doctor lost her license after he was charged with selling prescriptions for highly addictive prescription painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose.

The sanctions come a year after Attorney General Gurbir Grewal launched a new office to lead his statewide crackdown on reckless medical practices amid the worsening opioid crisis: the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies, or NJ CARES.

Since then, the OAG has successfully petitioned the State Board of Medical Examiners to suspend or revoke the professional licenses of more than two dozen prescribers who have “recklessly disregarded their professional and ethical obligations, or subjected them to other professional discipline,” the OAG said.

Many of these actions were taken on an “emergency basis” to deal with inappropriate behavior as well as to stem the flow of opioids to patients and other users, the OAG said.

The Passaic County case involves Marjorie Condon, who practiced in both Bergen and Passaic counties. She indiscriminately prescribed drugs, including pain management medication, according to officials. Her license was suspended for one year on Dec. 13.

Here were the others suspended by the State Board of Medical Examiners, which oversees medical licenses, in November and December:

• Neil Kamal, an anesthesiologist, was engaged in “indiscriminate” prescribing of CDS, according to the board. He was arrested on Sept. 25 fo dispensing “goody bags” of drugs. His license was suspended on Dec. 18.
• Eric Yahav indiscriminately prescribed CDS to six women who were not patients, according to the board. His license was suspended on Dec. 18 for two years.
• Joseph Prober was not truthful when completing applications for hospital privileges, and he also engaged in multiple acts of medical negligence and incompetence, according to the board. His license was suspended on Dec. 12 for nine months.
• Mikhail Solomonov, 53, was arrested, charged and convicted of sexual assault. His license was temporarily suspended on Dec. 9. The Cedar Knolls doctor was found guilty of sexually assaulting his health assistant during their educational getaway in Colorado, according to The Trentonian.
• Alan Kelsey lost his license and was told to cease and desist from all patient contact; it’s not clear why. His license was revoked on Nov. 29.
• James Darren, a podiatrist, was supposed to fulfill a skills assessment. He said he was dealing with an unexpected serious medical issue, but his failure to comply led to his license being suspended on Nov. 22.
• Jagdish Chugh was arrested on July 30 for allegedly having sexual contact with two children. He temporarily surrendered his license on Nov. 6 pending the outcome of the case. The Long Valley resident was arrested and charged with three counts of having sexual contact with the children. The doctor was accused of touching part of one victim’s body without consent and had sexual contact with a second victim. All of the examinations took place at the Pediatric & Adolescent Medical Center in Hackettstown, according to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office.
• Raymond Hendel let his license lapse as his plastic surgery practice was being investigated, according to the board. His license was suspended on Nov. 1.
• Amir Shariati was licensed to practice medicine and surgery but he let it lapse, according to the board. He was fined $2,500 in connection with his alleged treatment of a patient. His license was suspended on Nov. 1.
• Larry Shemen let his license lapse and was fined $7,500. He failed to retain a patient record for at least six years, according to the board. His license was suspended on Nov. 1.
• Arpad Szallasi let his license lapse and his license was suspended on Nov. 1.

Twenty-three other doctors are facing or have faced sanctions since the state announced its crackdown a year ago.

Passaic County Doctor Sanctioned

Mahesh Mehta, 65, who practices family medicine in Paterson, was sanctioned on Nov. 11 after he was indicted on a charge of second-degree unlawful dispensing of controlled dangerous substances.

Mehta allegedly sold prescriptions for Percocet, a Schedule II opioid pain medication, according to a release from the Office of Attorney General. The state board last November temporarily suspended a part of Mehta’s license to dispense drugs, except for suboxone.

Doctor Loses License For Opioid Conviction

A former doctor who practiced medicine in Manahawkin, and who had been convicted of illegally distributing opioids, has been banned from prescribing drugs in New Jersey, the state Office of Attorney General recently announced.

Liviu T. Holca practiced family medicine in Manahawkin. Holca was initially arrested in 2014 for distributing opioid painkillers with no medical justification, the OAG said.

Holca pleaded guilty in 2016 to illegal drug distribution and money laundering. He was sentenced to three years of probation and 100 hours of community service and was forced to forfeit $291,919 from his bank accounts, the OAG said. He was initially banned from practicing medicine in 2014.

Read more: Ex-Stafford Doc Loses Prescription License For Opioid Conviction

“El Chapo of Opioids”

Robert Delagente, 45, of Oakland, the so-called “El Chapo of Opioids,” was charged recently with one count of distribution of controlled dangerous substances and one count of obstruction of justice, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Beginning in May 2014, Delagente was a doctor at a medical practice called North Jersey Family Medicine (NJFM) in Oakland, according to a news release from Carpenito. He allegedly described himself in conversations pertaining to his prescribing of painkillers as the “Candy Man” and the “El Chapo of Opioids.”

Read more: Oakland’s ‘Candy Man’ Prescribed Drugs For No Reason: US Attorney

Delagente knowingly prescribed controlled substances, such as oxycodone, Percocet, Tylenol with codeine, and various benzodiazepines (alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, and temazepam), outside the ordinary course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose., according to the release.

Delagente failed to monitor patients for addiction and ignored drug screening tests to determine whether certain patients were taking illicit drugs, according to the release.

In one instance, an NJFM employee allegedly texted Delagente that a patient had gotten a babysitter and driven a long distance to get to the practice, but had been unable to see a doctor.

Delagente responded: “Oh well … C’est la vie! Lol … He can wait for his oral heroin another day. Lol,” according to the release.

NJ Doctors Busted In Massive $800 Million Opioid Takedown

Two doctors are in trouble because of their alleged roles in a fraud ring that resulted in $800 million in losses and involved more than 3.25 million pills of opioids in “pill mill” clinics and doctors’ offices, authorities recently announced.

The September takedown included new charges and convictions against 54 defendants for their roles in submitting nearly $800 million in fraudulent claims made to federal payers, including 15 doctors or medical professionals, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office release. More than 20 defendants are charged for their roles in diverting opioids.

Doctors, marketing executives, pharmacists and the owners and operators of a genetic testing laboratory have been charged with, or have pleaded guilty to a range of criminal conduct, including: the criminal prescription of highly-addictive opioid pills to patients with no medical need, the paying of kickbacks and other crimes.

The charges involve individuals contributing to the opioid epidemic, including medical professionals involved in the unlawful distribution of opioids and other prescription narcotics, the release said.

Read more: More NJ Doctors Busted In Massive $800 Million Opioid Takedown

Ear, nose and throat specialist in drug ring

George Beecher, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Warren who conspired to supply a drug ring with tens of thousands of high-dose opioid painkillers, recently agreed to surrender his medical licenses, according to a press release from the Office of Attorney General.

“There is no room in New Jersey’s medical profession for physicians who break the law, as these two men did,” said Grewal.

Beecher was sentenced to 10 years in state prison last month after pleading guilty to second-degree charges of conspiracy and distribution of oxycodone.

The charges were the result of “Operation Busted Script,” an investigation by the Attorney General’s Prescription Fraud Investigation Strike Team, a team of detectives and attorneys in the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau that targets corrupt healthcare professionals and “pill mills.:

Read more: Doctor Faces Jail, 7 Others In Statewide NJ Opioid Drug Ring

The investigation revealed that Beecher, in order to supply the drug ring, wrote prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose for tens of thousands of 30 mg oxycodone pills in the names of people he never examined, treated, or even met, according to the release.

Warren County Doctor Prescribed “Subsys”

The state Board of Medical Examiners recently revoked the license of a Warren County doctor after he allegedly placed patients at risk by prescribing the tightly-restricted cancer pain medication “Subsys,” according to the Office of Attorney General.

These patients did not meet the criteria for receiving the powerful opioid painkiller even though Kenneth P. Sun accepted more than $100,000 from the drug’s maker, Insys Therapeutics Inc., to push the medication, according to an OAG release.

Sun, a pain management practitioner in Phillipsburg, prescribed an opioid despite restrictions placed on Subsys, a potent under-the-tongue opioid spray approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, according to the OAG release.

The drug treats breakthrough pain in cancer patients already receiving, and tolerant to, around-the-clock opioid therapy for their underlying cancer pain. Prescribing Subsys outside its approved parameters exposes patients to grave risks, including the risk of a fatal overdose, according to the release.

Sun is also among numerous doctors nationwide who accepted payments from Insys – in the form of speaking and consulting fees – that were, in reality, cash incentives to promote prescriptions of Subsys beyond its approved parameters, according to the release.

“We cannot end the opioid crisis unless we crack down on doctors who put profit over patient care,” said Grewal. “Dr. Sun pushed a dangerous opioid painkiller on patients who didn’t need it and weren’t approved to receive it. The revocation of Dr. Sun’s license is simply the latest in a growing list of actions we are taking against the doctors who have fueled this public health crisis.”

Bergen County Loses License For Indiscriminately Prescribing Opioid Painkillers

The state Board of Medical Examiners recently and permanently suspended the license of a Bergen County doctor for indiscriminately prescribing highly addictive opioid painkillers to patients for years, despite “clear signs” they were misusing the drugs or diverting them for illegal purposes, according to the OAG.

Eric Thomas, 44, who practiced internal medicine in North Arlington, allegedly prescribed large amounts of Oxycodone, OxyContin, morphine and other controlled dangerous substances without a legitimate medical purpose to seven patients he treated between January 2012 and May 2015.

Toms River Doctor Temporarily Barred From Prescribing Pain Meds

A Toms River doctor who specializes in pain management has been temporarily suspended from prescribing medication after an investigation that showed he had prescribed opioids to patients who told him they had sold pills.

Bruce M. Coplin, a physiatrist whose office is on Hospital Drive, has been suspended from prescribing any controlled dangerous substances as of Aug. 23 by the state Board of Medical Examiners, according to the disciplinary order on file with the state. Read more here….

South Jersey Doctor’s License Revoked After Patient’s Death: AG

The state Board of Medical Examiners has permanently revoked the license of a South Jersey doctor it says indiscriminately prescribed a powerful spray form of the painkiller fentanyl to three patients, killing one, Grewal announced.

The fatality is at the center of allegations leveled against the company that makes the powerful opioid-fentanyl drug Subsys and its billionaire founder, John Kapoor.

The state had previously temporarily suspended the license of Vivienne Matalon, who practices in Cherry Hill, in October of 2016, eight days after it filed a Verified Complaint accusing her of professional misconduct and gross negligence in the indiscriminate prescription of Subsys. Read more here…

7 NJ Charged In Massive Opioid, Health Care Fraud Bust

Seven people in New Jersey – including a doctor – and one in Philadelphia have been arrested in what the Justice Department is calling the “largest health care fraud and opioid enforcement action ever taken,” authorities announced.

Robert Agresti, a 61-year-old doctor from Essex Falls, recently admitted that from November 2014 through September 2017, he prescribed medically unnecessary compounded prescriptions for a company that sold them, according to authorities.

He was paid $300 cash for every prescription he authorized, regardless of it was medically necessary, authorities said. He signed prescriptions brought to him by other people involved in the scheme without examining or speaking with the patients. Multiple health benefit programs paid more than $8.9 million as a result of Agresti’s phony prescriptions, authorities said. Read more here…

State Says Middlesex County Doctor Pushed Painkillers

A Middlesex County doctor had his medical license temporarily suspended recenty after a state investigation found that he indiscriminately prescribed highly addictive opioids in excessive amounts to his patients over the past year, the state alleges.

Eddie Gamao, a general practitioner in Piscataway, voluntarily agreed to temporarily surrender his license to the state Board of Medical Examiners amid allegations he gave his patients painkiller prescriptions that far exceeded the safe limits. This allegedly occurred between February 2017 and February 2018, the state Division of Consumer Affairs said. Read more here…

State Suspends Doctor Accused Of Illegally Prescribing Opioids

A Burlington County doctor who is accused of indiscriminately prescribing addictive opioid pain medications to patients has been temporarily barred from treating patients, Grewal announced.

Louis Spagnoletti, a pain management specialist in Marlton, is accused of treating patients with high doses of powerful opioids for years without justification, sometimes refilling full-month supplies multiple times a month, according to the complaint filed by the state. Read more here…

5 NJ Doctors Lose Licenses In Illegal Opioid Investigations

Five doctors were recently accused of improperly prescribing opioids, anabolic steroids, and other controlled substances to their patients in New Jersey, costing them their licenses, according to the Office of Attorney General.

The doctors include two convicted on federal charges of illegal drug distribution, according to an OAG release. Read more here…

The doctors who lost their licenses are: