The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced on August 5, 2022 that charges had been filed in an alleged opioid distribution network that prosecutors say was being run from a physician's office in Morris County. The release identifies four defendants and their defense counsel.
In the announcement, the Acting Attorney General stated that medical office employees who use their trusted positions to divert prescription opioids pose a grave risk to public health and undermine statewide efforts to combat the addiction epidemic in New Jersey. The release frames the case as one of diversion by people working inside a medical practice.
The available text of the release does not describe how the alleged network was detected, the specific opioids involved, or the individual charges against each defendant. The release directs the public to the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for reporting Medicaid fraud and patient abuse. All charges are accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.