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TRENTON – Acting Attorney
General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice
Director Stephen J. Taylor today announced
the arrests of a Jersey City pharmacist
and two city residents in an ongoing investigation
of a criminal narcotics network that distributed
thousands of black market prescription pain
pills such as OxyContin and Percocet.
The arrests, made yesterday
and today, stem from Operation MedScam,
a joint investigation by the Medicaid Fraud
Control Unit of the Division of Criminal
Justice’s Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor and the Jersey City Police
Department’s Special Investigation
Unit. More than 25 individuals have been
arrested in the investigation to date.
“We are continuing
to identify and charge those alleged to
be responsible for this criminal network,
which distributed dangerous narcotics in
our communities and stole from the Medicaid
program,” said Acting Attorney General
Dow.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli, Kamal Moorjani, 40, of Lyndhurst,
the owner and pharmacist in charge at Amethyst
Pharmacy at 550 Newark Ave. in Jersey City,
was arrested yesterday on charges of health
care claims fraud (2nd degree), Medicaid
fraud (3rd degree), distribution of a controlled
dangerous substance (CDS) within 500 feet
of a public park (2nd degree), distribution
of a CDS (3rd degree), and distribution
of a CDS within 1,000 feet of a school (3rd
degree). More than $2 million in assets
of Moorjani were seized yesterday.
Moorjani allegedly dispensed
prescription pills, including Viagra and
narcotics such as OxyContin, to individuals
who did not have prescriptions for them.
Meanwhile, in exchange, Moorjani allegedly
billed Medicaid for non-narcotic medicines
that were prescribed to those individuals
and others without dispensing the medicines.
The investigation further
revealed that Moorjani filled prescriptions
for narcotics that were fraudulently obtained.
It is alleged that co-conspirators within
the criminal network would drop off numerous
fraudulent prescriptions for narcotics,
which Moorjani would fill. The co-conspirators
would return later to pick up the narcotics,
which were sold on the street.
The Division of Criminal
Justice yesterday seized assets and property
from Moorjani worth more than $2 million,
including the pharmacy property at 550 Newark
Avenue, his residence in Lyndhurst, and
more than $1.3 million deposited in bank
accounts.
Also arrested were Thomas
Milette, 30, and Edward Harmon, 50, both
of Jersey City. They were charged with distributing
narcotics. Harmon was arrested yesterday.
Milette was arrested today.
“This investigation
is an excellent example of cooperation between
state and local law enforcement agencies,”
said Division of Criminal Justice Director
Taylor. “By working together and sharing
resources, expertise and information, we
can maximize our results.”
Milette was charged with
distribution of a controlled dangerous substance
within 500 feet of a public park (2nd degree)
and two counts of distribution of a CDS
(3rd degree). Milette allegedly distributed
Percocet and Oxycodone pills in Jersey City
on Dec. 2 on Summit Avenue, and on Dec.
9 in Lincoln Park.
Harmon was charged with
distribution of a CDS (2nd degree) and distribution
of a CDS (3rd degree). He allegedly distributed
Percocet pills in Jersey City on multiple
occasions during the past three months.
The arrests were made by
detectives and officers of the Division
of Criminal Justice and Jersey City Police
Department. The three defendants were being
held in the Hudson County Jail, Moorjani
on $100,000 bail, Milette on $75,000 bail,
and Harmon on $50,000 bail. The charges
are merely accusations and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A total of more than 25
people have been arrested since October
19 as a result of Operation MedScam, including
doctors, pharmacists and alleged street-level
drug dealers.
On Oct. 19 and 20, investigators
arrested three alleged ringleaders: Robert
Silverman, 44, of Jersey City; Louis Lisi,
34, of Union City; and Brian Kelly, 49,
of Hoboken. Silverman allegedly ran his
own ring, while the other two worked together.
The leaders allegedly paid Medicaid beneficiaries
to obtain fake prescriptions for painkillers
and other drugs from two doctors, Dr. Clifton
Howell, 53, of West Orange, whose medical
practice is at 550 Newark Ave., Jersey City,
and Dr. Magdy Elamir, 56, of North Saddle
Brook, whose practice is at 550 Summit Ave.,
Jersey City. Both of those doctors were
arrested.
Two pharmacists were arrested
in October: Babak Bamdad, 41, pharmacist
in charge at Tucker Drugs, 1000 Washington
St., Hoboken, and Amir Tadros, 32, pharmacist
in charge at Five Corners Pharmacy, 591
Summit Ave., Jersey City. Six other individuals
were arrested as alleged street-level distributors
for the rings. The charges against the other
defendants are pending. At the time of the
initial arrests in October, bank accounts
containing more than $1 million were seized,
and more than 1,000 pills were recovered
from the arrested individuals and from locations
where search warrants were executed.
The rings allegedly distributed
the prescription pain pills throughout Hudson
County and other parts of the state, including
Bergen, Ocean, Morris and Monmouth counties.
A single 30 milligram OxyContin pill, known
as a “blue,” typically sells
for $10 to $20 on the street, while a 10
milligram Percocet pill sells for $5 to
$8.
“As we have seen historically,
this type of health care fraud and street
level distribution doesn't occur without
the involvement of the medical providers,”
said Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza
Dagli. “Criminal activity by doctors,
pharmacists, and other professionals who
are in a position of public trust is particularly
egregious and is a priority for this office.”
The
investigation was led for the Office of
the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit by Detective Kevin Gannon
and Sgt. Fred Weidman under the supervision
of Deputy Attorney General Erik Daab, Deputy
Chief of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit,
and Deputy Attorneys General Debra Conrad
and Cynthia Vazquez.
They were assisted by the
following members of the Jersey City Police
Department’s Special Investigation
Unit under the supervision of Chief Thomas
Comey: Capt. Gary Lallo, Sgt. Anthony Musante,
Sgt. Wally Wolf, Detective Wael Shahid,
Detective Jeff Guilfoyle, Detective Vincent
Disbrow, Detective Hector Marrero, Police
Officer Alex Torres, Police Officer Chris
Dolan, and Police Officer Erik Infantes.
Deputy Attorney General
Carol Stanton Meier, Detective Sgt. Scott
Naismyth and Analyst Bethany Schussler are
handling the asset forfeiture actions for
the Division of Criminal Justice.
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