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Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit

Police & Fire
Washington State Driver Who Collected 13 Pounds Of Fentanyl At Secaucus Warehouse Pleads Out Washington State Driver Who Collected 13 Pounds Of Fentanyl At Secaucus Warehouse Pleads Out
Washington State Driver Who Collected 13 Pounds Of Fentanyl At Secaucus Warehouse Pleads Out An out-of-state man admitted collecting 13 pounds of fentanyl at a warehouse in Secaucus, authorities said. Unidentified individuals loaded boxes filled with powder and more than 20,000 pills containing fentanyl into a vehicle driven by Jose Luis Pineda Torres, 48, of Washington State on Feb. 15, 2023, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. DEA agents subsequently charged Torres with possessing fentanyl for sale. Torres took a deal from the government, pleading guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court in Newark. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 29. Sellinger cred…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Bergen Doc Who Said He Treated Medicaid Patients When He Was Not Even In The U.S. Pays Up Bergen Doc Who Said He Treated Medicaid Patients When He Was Not Even In The U.S. Pays Up
Bergen Doc Who Said He Treated Medicaid Patients When He Was Not Even In The U.S. Pays Up A Bergen County doctor and former medical director of the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus busted for "up-coding" and lying about care provided has agreed to pay $700,000, federal authorities said. Arun Sehgal and his Ramsey practice, Preventive & Diagnostic Medical Center P.A., violated the "False Claims Act" by billing patients for more service than they could possibly provide in a single day, or for services that they never provided, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Thursday, Feb. 22. Sehgal and his practice agreed to pay $693,490 plus interest to resolve the three …

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients
Feds Bust Bergen Doc For Prescribing Tens Of Thousands Of Oxy Pills For Fake Patients A doctor from Hillsdale was arrested by federal agents for prescribing oxycodone for illegal use from her Paterson office, authorities said. Phony patients for whom Lisa Ferraro, 65, wrote scripts included two people who were locked up, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. They were among several “patients” who Sellinger said were “never physically examined or questioned about symptoms to determine whether there was a legitimate medical need for oxycodone.” Ferraro typically wrote prescriptions for 90 pills of 30mg of oxycodone per "patient," the U.S. attorney said. They were “typicall…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent
Marine Corps Vet From NJ Admits Defrauding VA Out Of $119,000, Threatening Agent A U.S. Marine Corps veteran from New Jersey admitted that he threatened to harm a federal agent after defrauding the VA out of $118,979 in disability benefits, authorities said. Kamil Wakulik, 38, lied when he claimed that he'd suffered PTSD from active-duty service that included having to recover human remains following natural disasters in the Philippines and Thailand, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. Wakulik, who lives in the Morris County community of Long Valley and was in the Corps from 2003 to 2007, wasn't involved in such operations, the U.S. attorney said. Ba…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Man Who Showed Up For Sex With 'Girl,' 13, At NJ Motel Sent To Federal Prison Man Who Showed Up For Sex With 'Girl,' 13, At NJ Motel Sent To Federal Prison
Man Who Showed Up For Sex With 'Girl,' 13, At NJ Motel Sent To Federal Prison A Bronx man was sentenced to two years in federal prison for arranging what he thought would be sex with a 13-year-old girl at a New Jersey motel. Eduardo Silva, 44, must serve the entire term because there’s no parole in the federal prison system. U.S. District Judge Renée Marie Bumb also sentenced him to lifetime supervised release during a hearing in federal court in Camden on Thursday, April 28. Silva used a social media app to ask the “minor” whether she was “into older guys,” U.S Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He then “sent a series of explicit online communications and text mess…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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Somerset Man Admits Flying To Philippines For Sex With Minor Somerset Man Admits Flying To Philippines For Sex With Minor
Somerset Man Admits Flying To Philippines For Sex With Minor A Somerset County man admitted that he flew to the Philippines to have sex with a minor he met online. James A. Diggs, 45, of Somerville, went there several times to have sex with four underage victims after arranging meetings online, federal authorities had charged. Rather than go to trial, Diggs took a deal from the government and pleaded guilty before a U.S. District Court judge in Trenton via teleconference Monday to traveling outside of the United States to engage in criminal sexual activity. Diggs first used an online messaging app to “persuade, induce, entice, and coerce” the first …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Feds: Lodi Social Studies Teacher Ran $550K Medications Scam, Some Cost $22,800 Each Feds: Lodi Social Studies Teacher Ran $550K Medications Scam, Some Cost $22,800 Each
Feds: Lodi Social Studies Teacher Ran $550K Medications Scam, Some Cost $22,800 Each A Lodi High School social studies teacher ran a scam that billed a state employees' health insurance program more than $550,000 for unnecessarily prescribed metabolic vitamins and special creams for himself and three colleagues, a federal grand jury indictment charges. Jason Nardachone, 45, of Nutley, "bribed the three other teachers with monthly payments of $500 in exchange for their agreement to obtain compounded medications they did not need," U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The medications cost the N.J. School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) from $3,300 to $22,8…

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by Cecilia Levine