Ernesto Lopez, Oxycodone and Fentanyl Diversion Scheme, New York 2019

A New York doctor has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for operating an oxycodone and fentanyl diversion scheme.

Ernesto Lopez, a 76-year-old doctor from Flushing, New York, was previously found guilty of conspiring to distribute narcotics and distribution of narcotics. He was sentenced by United States District Judge Denise L. Cote in Manhattan federal court.

The scheme, which operated from approximately 2015 until his arrest in November 2017, involved Lopez writing thousands of medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone and fentanyl in exchange for cash payments.

Lopez wrote prescriptions for nearly one million oxycodone pills, with a street value of approximately $20 million. He typically charged $200 to $300 in cash for patient visits, despite the fact that nearly 80 percent of his patients maintained health insurance.

In addition to the prison sentence, Lopez was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $50,000, and was ordered to forfeit $1,400,000.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA's New York Tactical Diversion Squad in bringing Lopez to justice.

According to the allegations, oxycodone and fentanyl are highly addictive, narcotic opioids that are used to treat severe pain conditions. Oxycodone prescriptions are in high demand and have significant cash value to drug dealers, who sell them on the street for large amounts of money.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/doctor-who-operated-oxycodone-and-fentanyl-diversion-scheme-sentenced-5-years-prison