Urologist With Toms River Office Accused Of Taking $130K Bribes

Toms River NJ

09 November, 2021

5:32 AM

Description

NEWARK, NJ — A urologist from Monmouth County who has an office in Toms River has been charged with taking $130,000 bribes and kickbacks from a pharmaceutical company for prescribing large volumes of fentanyl, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Mukaram Gazi, 51, of Marlboro, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks; one count of receiving kickbacks; one count of health care fraud, and one count of conspiring to unlawfully distribute dangerous narcotics, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Gazi owned and maintained a urology practice with locations in Toms River, Freehold, Hamilton, and Howell, authorities said. Gazi solicited and received more than $130,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company based in Arizona, in exchange for prescribing its drug Subsys, a powerful opioid narcotic designed to rapidly enter a patient's bloodstream upon being sprayed under the tongue, authorities allege. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Subsys solely for the "management of breakthrough pain in cancer patients who are already receiving and who are tolerant to around-the-clock therapy for their underlying persistent cancer pain." Gazi did not treat patients who were suffering from breakthrough cancer pain and was not in the practice of prescribing fentanyl-based pain medications. However, in exchange for bribes and kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, he began prescribing Subsys to a number of patients for whom Subsys was medically unnecessary, authorities said. The bribes and kickbacks Gazi accepted for prescribing Subsys were disguised as payments for educational presentations regarding Subsys that Gazi purportedly provided to licensed practitioners, authorities said. "In reality, these presentations were a sham – they often functioned as social events at restaurants, lacked the appropriate audience of licensed practitioners who could prescribe Subsys, and many of the purported signatures on the speaker program sign-in sheets were forged," Honig's office said. Gazi also prescribed high-dosage Adderall to a pharmacy owner who filled many of his Subsys prescriptions, as well as the pharmacy owner's significant other, to induce the pharmacy owner to continue filling his Subsys prescriptions, authorities said. Gazi additionally is accused of causing the submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare, New Jersey Medicaid, and other health insurance providers for the prescriptions of Subsys and Adderall that he wrote, which were induced through kickbacks, medically unnecessary, and not eligible for reimbursement, authorities said. He also conspired with others to distribute these powerful narcotics outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, Honig said. Click here to get Patch email notifications, or download our app to have breaking news alerts sent right to your phone. Have a news tip? Email [email protected] Follow Toms River Patch on Facebook.