Astoria Doctor Makes $2.5 Mil Off Illegal Oxycodone Prescriptions
As if prescription drugs weren’t already one of the worst drug problems in America, the sting becomes all too deep when we realize that some doctors have become the dealers pushing the product.
Dr. Emmanuel Lambrakis, 69, has made his fortune over the last 5 years. Starting around 2011, Lambrakis sold over 23,000 prescriptions for oxycodone to his patients. The narcotic has a street value of $30 a pill. Lambrakis dealt in his illegal drug deals out of his clinics on 75-61 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica and 3276 31st St. in Astoria, reported QNS.
Patients would come into the clinic, being charged $150 per visit, with each visit lasting about 5 minutes.
According to the complaint, some visits had multiple patients at once. Lambrakis would rotate their arms and legs, ‘examining’ them, with little to say. Then he would write up a prescription for 120 30 milligram tablets of oxycodone.
The successful Lambrakis would deal with 30 visits a day, collecting a total sum of $2.5 million in patient fees over the years. The Dr faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted and is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Friday.
According to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara “Although licensed as a doctor, as alleged, Emmanuel Lambrakis was a prolific and dangerous drug dealer….He allegedly pumped medically unnecessary oxycodone pills into our communities, feeding the addiction of countless people.”