Indian-origin doctor charged with issuing over 31,000 fake prescriptions in US
New York: A 51-year-old Indian-origin doctor in New Jersey has been charged with distributing drugs without a legitimate medical purpose to his patients, allegedly in exchange for sexual favours, according to a press release issued by the US Attorney's Office.
Ritesh Kalra, 51, of Secaucus, allegedly operated a “pill mill out of his medical office, where he routinely prescribed high-dose opioids—including oxycodone—and promethazine with codeine to patients,” said the press release issued by the US Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey, on Friday.
According to the PTI report, US Attorney Alina Habba said in the release, “Physicians hold a position of profound responsibility—but as alleged, Dr Kalra used that position to fuel addiction, exploit vulnerable patients for sex, and defraud New Jersey's public healthcare programme”.
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Kalra is accused of issuing more than 31,000 prescriptions for oxycodone, including days when he wrote upwards of 50 prescriptions between January 2019 and February 2025.
Kalra, an internist in Fair Lawn, also allegedly billed for false in-person visits and counselling sessions, the release said.
He made his initial appearance on Thursday before a US Magistrate Judge in Newark federal court. He was released on home incarceration and an unsecured bond of USD 1,000,00, it added.
Kalra is required to shut down his medical practice while the case is pending.
His attorney, Michael Baldassar, denied the accusations and said that the government press release reads like a supermarket tabloid, the New York Daily News reported on Saturday.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that a U.S. federal court in Pennsylvania had convicted an Indian-origin doctor for his involvement in multiple healthcare frauds, including a $2.3 million conspiracy involving the illegal distribution of controlled substances. In the conspiracy to illegally distribute drugs, he issued pre-signed medical prescriptions for oxycodone that were used by interns to enable just nine patients to collect 20,850 tablets, it said.
