New York City and Long Island Prosecutors Announce Prescription Drug Initiative; 98 Charged with Illegal Distribution of Prescription Pain Killers

On June 6, 2012, The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, along with District Attorneys from  Kings (Brooklyn), Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau, Queens, and Suffolk counties, announced the filing of drug trafficking charges across separate cases in those jurisdictions.  In total, 98 defendants, including two doctors and one nurse practitioner were charged with illegal distribution  of oxycodone and other controlled pain medications and narcotics.  A  settlement in a federal civil action in Brooklyn, also involving oxycodone prescriptions, was also announced.

The criminal complaints alleged a variety of illegal actions, including forging prescriptions for oxycodone, “shopping” doctors for illegally issued prescriptions, and selling prescriptions for oxycodone.  According to the press release, the defendants face maximum sentences ranging from 7 to 20 years imprisonment, if convicted.