A Great Neck doctor has been convicted of selling patients oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription opioid, for cash out of her office.
A jury found Dr. Roya Jafari-Hassad guilty of illegal distribution of oxycodone following a 10-day trial at Central Islip federal court
“As proven, Dr. Hassad was a drug dealer who disgracefully dispensed highly addictive oxycodone pills without any regard for the well-being of the patient but with plenty of interest in their cash,” said Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “Corrupt doctors like this defendant, who value greed over their oath to do no harm, fuel the opioid epidemic.”
The 58-year-old doctor charged hundreds of dollars in cash in exchange for a monthly prescription for the opiate, which had no legitimate medical purpose, prosecutors said. In the spring of 2021, law enforcement opened an investigation into Jafari-Hassad’s conduct.
Over nine months and 10 appointments that were tape-recorded, Jafari-Hassad gave an undercover detective, who claimed he had pain, 10 prescriptions for oxycodone totaling hundreds of oxycodone pills for which he paid thousands of dollars in cash, authorities said. Jafari-Hassad typically charged about $700 for a 30-day supply, court documents say.
Oxycodone is a scheduled controlled substance that may be dispensed by medical professionals only for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of a doctor’s professional practice. It is a powerful and highly addictive drug and is frequently abused because of its potency when crushed into a powder and ingested, leading to a heroin-like euphoria.
Long Island has the highest number of opioid overdose deaths in New York State, with access to narcotics such as oxycodone and fentanyl being a significant contributing factor. The opioid epidemic ranks as the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history, health officials say. More than 111,000 people nationwide died of drug overdoses last year, more than double the amount of people killed in ca crashes.
Jafari-Hassad’s attorney did not respond to the Press‘ request for comment at time of publishing.
Jafari-Hassad faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced.
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