Five people were sentenced to state prison, the latest members of a Jersey City, N.J.-based drug ring that trafficked prescription pain pills in Hudson, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean and Bergen counties, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
A ringleader and a doctor pleaded guilty to participating in a narcotics ring that defrauded Medicaid and distributed black-market prescription pain pills such as OxyContin and Percocet in Hudson, Bergen, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
A North Jersey neurologist was charged in a state grand jury indictment with conspiring to participate in a pharmaceutical narcotics trafficking and Medicaid fraud scheme.
Two rings of alleged drug dealers, including several doctors and pharmacists, were arrested in connection with the black-market distribution in New Jersey of thousands of prescription pain pills, many of which were paid for through Medicaid and private insurance.
As a direct result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) – also known as ObamaCare – health insurance agent and broker commissions have been slashed by as much as 50%. Agencies have been forced to lay off employees, limit products and services, shift to other lines, and have seen significant drops in compensation.