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Evangelos Megariotis, 68, prescribed Oxycodone, Xanax, cough syrup with codeine and stimulants “outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Megariotis, who owned and operated Clifton Orthopedic Associates, already has been banned by the state from ever again practicing medicine or prescribing drugs in New Jersey.
State authorities had accused him of “professional misconduct and gross negligence” for prescribing habit-forming drugs without a complete history, physical exam or referrals to specialists.
"Anything that drugs can do on the street, my medications will do better and safer,” Megariotis allegedly told one patient. "Just call me.”
He faces more serious consequences now.
Megariotis was busted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Jersey Division as part of a Justice Department crackdown tied to more than 3.25 million opioid doses prescribed by Northeast “pill mill” clinics and doctors’ offices.
Federal authorities charged 54 people -- 15 of them doctors -- with filing a combined $800 million in bogus health insurance claims. Some took guilty pleas, while others are awaiting trial, they said.
SEE: Feds Say Northeast Opioid 'Pill Mill' Takedown Nets Paramus Pharmacy Owner, Clifton Surgeon
The probe produced a 34-count indictment returned by a grand jury against Megariotis, who closed his practice on Dec. 31, 2018 and hasn’t practiced medicine since, authorities said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma Spiro of Sellinger’s Opioid Abuse Prevention & Enforcement Unit is handling the case.
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