Purificacion Cristobal, Oxycodone Diversion, New York 2020

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Pill Mill Operator Sentenced to Possible 60 Years for Oxycodone Diversion

By [Crime Journalist], Grimy Times

Purificacion Cristobal, a 75-year-old nurse practitioner from Lyndhurst, New Jersey, has been convicted of conspiring to distribute oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice.

According to court records, Cristobal operated a clinic on Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, where she prescribed tens of thousands of doses of oxycodone between June 2019 and June 2020. Oxycodone, a highly potent and addictive opioid, commands high prices in the black market due to demand by drug abusers.

Cristobal often prescribed oxycodone in combination with Xanax (alprazolam) and/or Adderall (amphetamine), controlled substances that are themselves frequently abused and resold illicitly. She never performed physical examinations or medical tests, often asked patients to take their pick among different narcotics, and was repeatedly warned by others that her patients were reselling or abusing the drugs she prescribed.

Despite the warnings, Cristobal continued to prescribe the medications, encouraging existing patients to recruit others and regularly accepting cash payments in exchange for the prescriptions. She also coordinated with a nearby pharmacist to shield her unlawful prescribing practices from law enforcement scrutiny.

Cristobal was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute oxycodone and two counts of distributing oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice. The charges carry a maximum potential sentence of 60 years in prison.

Purificacion Cristobal, defendant/respondent REAL full name, was found guilty of the following criminal charges:

1. Conspiring to distribute oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice.

2. Two counts of distributing oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose acting outside the usual course of professional practice.

The crime took place in the Bronx, New York, between June 2019 and June 2020.

Cristobal will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

The case was handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit, with Assistant United States Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kyle A. Wirshba, and Derek Wikstrom in charge of the prosecution.