Ex-New York Assemblyman, Doctors Charged In Illegal Opioid Prescription Scheme

A former New York assemblyman and a dozen pain clinic workers were arrested on Friday, accused of operating some of the largest “pill mills” in the northeastern United States and illegally prescribing more than 6 million opioid pills, law enforcement officials said. Alec Brook-Krasny, who served in the New York State Assembly from 2006 to 2015 representing South Brooklyn, was charged with conspiracy and scheming to defraud by unlawfully selling prescriptions, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York division said in a statement. Also arrested in the sweep of three pain clinics were at least one nurse practitioner, three physician’s assistants, and two doctors including Dr. Lazar Feygin, who owned two of the clinics, the Drug Enforcement agency said. Brook-Krasny and Feygin could not be reached for comment. They were accused of over-prescribing oxycodone, a prescription opioid, to clinic patients who showed signs of selling pills or abusing other narcotics. The agency said that in exchange for oxycodone, the defendants also pressured patients to undergo unnecessary medical tests and procedures, then billed Medicare and Medicaid for millions of dollars. “The fusion of pill mill and Medicaid mill harmed countless people throughout the region, while Feygin and his co-defendants lined their pockets with taxpayer dollars,” Special Narcotics Prosecutor For the City of New York Bridget Brennan, who helped lead the investigation, said in ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news