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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a doctor who lives in Matawan was arrested
today on charges that he wrote fraudulent
prescriptions for narcotics, including Percocet
and Xanax, for Medicaid recipients in return
for large sums of cash. The doctor met customers
in a restaurant parking lot on Route 1.
According
to Director Taylor, Dr. Ki I. Song, 69,
of Matawan, was arrested in Old Bridge during
a motor vehicle stop on Matawan Road, a
short distance from his home. He was charged
by complaint with second-degree distribution
of a controlled dangerous substance.
The
charge is the result of an ongoing investigation
by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Jersey
City Police Department’s Special Investigation
Unit. This investigation stems from a prior
investigation by the agencies called Operation
MedScam. If convicted of the second-degree
offense, Song would face five to 10 years
in state prison and a criminal fine of up
to $150,000.
“It
is deeply troubling that a licensed physician
is alleged to have been, in essence, dealing
dangerous narcotics out of his car,”
said Attorney General Dow. “We will
not tolerate health care professionals who
abuse their licenses to turn an illicit
profit.”
“This
case is an offshoot of Operation MedScam,
in which 32 defendants were convicted for
their roles in a criminal network that distributed
narcotics in five New Jersey counties,”
said Director Taylor. “Working with
the Jersey City Police, our attorneys and
detectives are pursuing any leads developed
in that investigation, including these allegations
involving Dr. Song.”
“We
are committed to working jointly with the
Division of Criminal Justice in stopping
the illegal flow of narcotics throughout
the State of New Jersey. Every doctor investigated
and arrested for this type of crime is one
less drug dealer on the streets of New Jersey,”
said Chief Comey of the Jersey City Police
Department.
Song
is a licensed hematologist and oncologist
who formerly had a practice on Cottage Street
in Jersey City. He now lists his residence
as his medical office.
It
is alleged that Song has been writing fraudulent
prescriptions for Medicaid recipients for
narcotics, including the painkiller Percocet
and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax. The
prescriptions were not medically necessary.
Both drugs are addictive narcotics that
are frequently sold on the street and abused
by addicts. Song filled out the prescription
forms so the purchasers could fill the prescriptions
at pharmacies.
Song
allegedly would take orders by phone and
meet prescription purchasers in the parking
lot of a restaurant on Route 1 South at
Gill Lane in Iselin. It is alleged that
Song would typically collect $100 in cash
per completed prescription form. He would
write each prescription for 90 pills. It
is alleged that he most frequently wrote
prescriptions for Percocet, but he also
wrote them for Xanax. Song allegedly wrote
the prescriptions without obtaining any
patient history or performing any patient
examination.
Song
was lodged in the Middlesex County Jail
with bail set at $100,000.
Detectives
executed search warrants today for Song’s
residence and one of his cars, a Subaru
Baja that he allegedly used to meet people
who purchased prescriptions. Client records,
approximately $35,000 in cash, several prescriptions
prepared for delivery, and other evidence
were seized from the home. The Attorney
General’s Office has filed a forfeiture
action to seize his residence/office, the
Baja and U.S. currency recovered today as
alleged proceeds or instruments of his criminal
conduct. The seizures were valued at more
than $500,000.
This
matter is being referred to the New Jersey
Board of Medical Examiners for recommended
action against Song’s license to practice
medicine in New Jersey. His medical license
is set to expire on June 30, 2011, if it
is not renewed.
These
individuals are assigned to the investigation
for the OIFP Medicaid Fraud Control Unit:
Detective Kevin Gannon, Sgt. Frederick Weidman,
Deputy Attorney General Debra A. Conrad
and Deputy Attorney General Erik Daab, Chief
of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The following members of the Jersey City
Police Department’s Special Investigation
Unit are assigned to the investigation,
under the supervision of Chief Thomas Comey:
Lt. Fred Younger, Sgt. Anthony Musante,
Sgt. Ed Nestor, Detective Wael Shahid, Detective
Jeff Guilfoyle, Detective Vincent Disbrow,
Police Officer Alex Torres, Police Officer
Chris Dolan, Police Officer Eamon Nally,
Police Officer Joseph Anzivino and Detective
Erik Infantes.
Deputy
Attorney General Carol Stanton Meier, Sgt.
Kathleen Casey and Analyst Bethany Schussler
are assigned to the asset forfeiture action
for the Division of Criminal Justice.
The complaint is merely an accusation and
the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty. Because the charge is an
indictable offense, the case will be presented
to a state grand jury for potential indictment.
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