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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that a ringleader and a doctor pleaded guilty
today to participating in a narcotics ring
that defrauded Medicaid and distributed
black market prescription pain pills such
as OxyContin and Percocet in Hudson, Bergen,
Monmouth and Ocean counties.
According
to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Ronald
Chillemi, Louis Lisi, 35, of Union City,
pleaded guilty today to a first-degree charge
of leader of a narcotics trafficking network
before Superior Court Judge Kevin G. Callahan
in Hudson County. Dr. Clifton Howell, 54,
of West Orange, pleaded guilty today to
second-degree health care claims fraud.
The state will recommend that Lisi be sentenced
to 24 years in prison, including 12 years
of parole ineligibility, and that Howell
be sentenced to four years in prison. Howell
and Lisi must pay a total of $128,081 in
restitution. Howell also must pay a $101,281
civil penalty. Howell will be debarred from
the Medicaid program for five years. Judge
Callahan scheduled sentencing for Sept.
2.
Deputy
Attorneys General Debra A. Conrad and Cynthia
M. Vazquez took the guilty pleas for the
state. The charges stem from Operation MedScam,
a cooperative investigation by the Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit of the Office of the
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor and the Jersey
City Police Department’s Special Investigation
Unit.
“By
distributing dangerous narcotics on the
street and fraudulently billing Medicaid,
these defendants were a double threat to
society, fueling drug addiction and draining
resources earmarked to provide health care
to our most vulnerable residents,”
said Attorney General Dow. “We will
continue to aggressively target criminal
enterprises such as this one.”
“Thirty-four
defendants have now pleaded guilty for their
roles in this black market painkiller ring,”
said Director Taylor. “These pleas
speak to the great weight of the evidence
that we gathered through our highly effective
partnership with the Jersey City Police
Department.”
“The
Jersey City Police Department, in cooperation
with the Division of Criminal Justice, is
targeting a problem that is increasing both
statewide and nationwide,” said Jersey
City Police Chief Thomas Comey. “We
will continue to relentlessly pursue drug
dealers, even if they have medical or pharmacy
licenses.”
“Too
often we uncover doctors and pharmacists
who use their professional licenses to turn
an illicit profit through drug dealing and
Medicaid fraud,” said Acting Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor Ronald Chillemi. “These
cases are a top priority for our Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit.”
Also
today, Amir Tadros, 33, of Jersey City,
pharmacist in charge at Five Corners Pharmacy,
was sentenced by Judge Callahan to five
years of probation. The state had asked
for 364 days in jail pursuant to his plea
agreement, but the judge imposed a sentence
of straight probation. Tadros pleaded guilty
on May 24 to third-degree health care claims
fraud. Tadros will be debarred from the
Medicaid program for five years. He was
ordered to pay $55,586 in restitution and
an additional civil penalty in the same
amount.
Lisi,
Howell and Tadros were charged in a Feb.
14, 2011 state grand jury indictment obtained
by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
The indictment charged that between April
2008 and February 2010, the three men conspired
with more than 30 others in an enterprise
that unlawfully distributed prescription
narcotics. Another ringleader, two other
pharmacists and 28 street-level drug dealers
previously pleaded guilty in the case. A
second doctor, Magdy Elamir, 58, of Saddle
Brook, was indicted on July 15, 2010. The
charges against Elamir are pending.
In
pleading guilty, Lisi admitted that he was
one of the leaders of the enterprise who
financed, organized, supervised and managed
the subordinate members in the transportation
and distribution across New Jersey of prescription
narcotics, including Oxycodone and Percocet.
The
enterprise accumulated thousands of prescription
pain pills each week that were sold across
New Jersey. 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.
Howell
admitted that he was one of the licensed
medical professionals involved in this ring.
He admitted that between January 1, 2009
and Oct. 19, 2009, he caused claims to be
submitted to the Medicaid program for prescription
drugs dispensed to Medicaid beneficiaries,
when in fact the prescriptions were not
dispensed to the intended patients. The
claims were subsequently paid out by the
Medicaid program. In pleading guilty, Tadros
admitted that between August 1 and Oct.
9, 2009, he submitted claims to the Medicaid
program for prescription drugs dispensed
to Medicaid beneficiaries, even though the
prescription drugs were never dispensed.
The claims were subsequently paid out by
the Medicaid program.
Howell
agreed to the temporary suspension of his
medical license in December 2009 in lieu
of a formal disciplinary hearing before
the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners.
Tadros’ license to practice pharmacy
is inactive. The Board of Medical Examiners
and Board of Pharmacy will consider disciplinary
actions against their licenses following
the resolution of these criminal matters.
Detective
Kevin Gannon, Sgt. Frederick Weidman, Deputy
Attorneys General Debra A. Conrad and Cynthia
Vazquez were assigned to the investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Erik Daab, who is
the Chief of the Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit, assisted in the investigation. They
were assisted by Medicaid Fraud Control
Unit Analyst Mitzi Gross, as well as the
following members of the Jersey City Police
Department’s Special Investigation
Unit under the supervision of Chief Thomas
Comey: Capt. Gary Lallo, Lt. Frederick Younger,
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, Police Officer Eamon Nally
and Police Officer Erik Infantes. Deputy
Attorney General Carol Stanton Meier is
handling the asset forfeiture action.
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