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John Gargan, 63, of Manhattan, and Loren Piquant, 38, of the Bronx, were convicted after a two-week trial of narcotics distribution conspiracy.
Two others, Queens residents Dante Cubangbang, 51, and Michael Kellerman, previously pleaded guilty to narcotics, health care fraud, and money laundering charges in connection with their participation in the oxycodone distribution scheme at that same clinic.
Between 2018, Cubangbang, a doctor, and Gargan, a nurse practitioner, prescribed more than 6.3 million 30-milligram pills to customers that had no medical need. Most of those pills were then turned around and sold on the street.
Piquant worked as a receptionist for the clinic and Piquant was tasked with recruiting customers.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said that the four ran EPOH Medical P.C. in Queens, a clinic they attempted to make look like a legitimate operation, though instead, they were dishing out opioids.
EPOH had approximately 600 “patients.” There were typically large crowds of patients in EPOH’s waiting area, and patients often had to wait hours to be seen for their “office visit.”
The visit itself lasted no more than a few minutes and involved no physical examinations or questions about pain.
Patients were required to pay $300 in cash for this visit and, in return, they received a prescription for as many as 180 oxycodone 30 mg pills each month. Most of the prescriptions were paid for by Medicare or Medicaid.
From just the $300 patient visit fee, EPOH generated approximately $2 million in cash each year. They sold pills for up to $19 each. Berman noted that “at approximately $19 per pill, the value of these illegally obtained pills prescribed by the operation earned approximately $120 million.
When they are sentenced each of the four will face up to 20 years in prison. No return sentencing date has been announced.
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