NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Eight people, including a doctor and three pharmacists, were charged in federal court Wednesday for an alleged multi-million dollar scheme to prescribe and illegally distribute oxycodone pills in Brooklyn, authorities said.
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“Doctors and medical professionals have a professional obligation to do no harm, but, as alleged, the defendants callously supplied more than one million pills to traffickers for distribution, resulting in dangerous opioids flooding the streets of this district,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “Today’s charges demonstrate this Office’s continued commitment to stemming the availability of illegal drugs and holding to account those who contribute to the epic tragedy that is the opioid epidemic.”
The scheme began in 2018 and was based out of a medical practice on Linden Boulevard in East New York where 75-year-old Dr. Somsri Ratanaprasatporn had her practice, court documents show.
Ratanaprasatporn along with her office manager, 54-year-old Leticia Smith and pharmacists Bassam Amin, 69, Omar Elsayed, 28, and Yousef Ennab, 25, collaborated to operate the distribution, court documents show.
Officials said that Ratanaprasatporn, who is a pediatrician and general practitioner, and Smith would issue the prescriptions to be filled by Amin, Ennab and Elsayed at pharmacies in Brooklyn and Staten Island.
After the prescriptions were filled, three more people assisted with carrying out the street distribution. Micharl Kent, 49, Anthony Mathis, 55, and Raymond Walker, 70, oversaw “crews” of bogus patients who obtained medically unnecessary prescriptions, authorities said.
“With this multi-million-dollar criminal scheme, it's alleged the defendants made their profits off the vulnerabilities and addictions of their customers throughout New York City,” said IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Fattorusso. “Law enforcement partnerships like those seen here today have been and continue to be an integral part of stopping the flow of highly addictive narcotics into our communities.”
In total, the group distributed more than 11,000 oxycodone prescriptions which amounted to more than 1.2 million pills that have a street value of at least $24 million. Officers found hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at Smith’s home while executing a search warrant. At Kent’s home, investigators recovered two handguns he was seen tossing from a rear door of the house.
If convicted of the drug charges, the group faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Smith and Kent are also facing money laundering charges which carry a sentence of 20 years for each count.
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