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Yonkers resident Nadem Sayegh, 65, a doctor with offices in Yonkers and the Bronx, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by two years probation and a $100,000 fine. He will also pay $11,000 in restitution for not following medical guidelines when distributing the drug.
Sayegh must report to prison at the end of January. He was one of 10 medical professionals charged in the oxycodone distribution ring. Each of the other co-conspirators are still awaiting trial.
According to investigators who announced the arrests of 10 medical professionals last year, Sayegh wrote illegal prescriptions in order to live a life of luxury.
He “maintained a corrupt relationship with a co-conspirator, issuing oxycodone prescriptions in his name, variations of his name, his family members’ names, and the names of other individuals in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash, expensive dinners, high-end whiskey, cruises, and all-expense-paid trips," officials said
Among Sayegh’s activities included writing some prescriptions for which there was no legitimate medical purpose or people who didn’t even visit his medical office, including a patient who was overseas and another who was incarcerated.
“From drug cartels to street distributors, law enforcement is targeting all levels of drug traffickers amidst the worst drug crisis in American history,” DEA Special Agent-in-Charge James Hunt stated. “The worst villains in the fight against drug abuse are doctors whose criminal actions fuel addiction and overdoses.
"As a result of separate investigations from three DEA offices, five doctors, a pharmacist, a nurse practitioner, and three associates have been arrested for their role in distributing millions of unnecessary oxycodone pills, allegedly.”
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill added, “our entire country is suffering through an opioid abuse crisis, and we need to do everything we can to save as many lives as possible. We need to help people from falling into a black hole of addiction and fatal overdoses.”
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