A busy pain-management physician in the region may not be very busy for awhile.
Federal prosecutors believe Eugene Gosy to be among the greediest. They backed up their claim by accusing the physician of running a criminal enterprise that gave out over 300,000 illicit prescripts over the last 48-months.
The accusations against Gosy are just part of an 115-count indictment. Included in the document are allegations that the administered painkillers to clients that did not have a valid medical reason for their need.
As a local opoid epidemic is sweeping through the region, Gosy’s indictment is just the newest in a string of felonious charges.
According to investigators, most were not only unlawful, but they were also deadly as well.
At teh center of the charge is the accusation that Gosy, 55, pushed profit over care; a comparison that led prosecutors to equate the doctor to a drug dealer in Washington Heights.
The indicment gains Gosy notoriety as the sixth physician to risk prosecution surrounding illegal prescriptions.
Gosy has been linked to huge prescription rates for some time. In 2009, he handed out a greater number or regulated medications than any physician in the city. Flickinger stated that Gosy reached the same pinnacle in 2012.
Gosy’s Defense lawyer, Joel Daniels, was quiet regarding his client’s questionable record. Daniels noted that Gosy’s work treats many sufferers with debilitating pain.
Daniels also claimed the government’s case pushes medical issues surrounding Gosy’s clinic into an illegal enterprise.
“The testimony will prove that all prescriptions provided to Dr. Gosy’s patrons were for medical purposes,” Daniels said. “We are certain that the court will recognize that what Dr. Gosy did was not illegal.”
The indictment claims that the physician set up a renewal process which resulted in over 300 illegal refills daily. Gosy is accused of collusion to dispense controlled drugs as well as the illegal administration of opiates.
The indictment further accuses Gosy with charging the state workers’ payment arrangement for office visits made by his patients during a time when Gosy was in Hungary.
The probe, led by the FBI’s Health Care Fraud Task Force has already started a relinquishment claim against Gosy. In September, two of his vehicles — a $125K Ferrari and a $100K Fort GT couple were seized.
“Dr. Gosy let his patrons down. He let his community down,” said Holly Hubert, assistant special agent.
Several other physicians have been investiaged and indicted with unlawfully providing painkillers including oxycodone.
One of the earliest doctors, Pravin Mehta, 77, agreed to bargain with prosecutors and admitted to giving out illicit pain medicine at his medical clinic from 2007 until 2011.
Another physician, Matthew Bennett, admitted illegally giving out painkillers at his practice and was imprisoned for three years.
On Tuesday, a typed message was posted outside Gosy & Associates’ clinic alerting patients that the practice was closed because of an “emergency”. The clinic’s website showed a statement Tuesday night informing patients, with an appointment, to reschedule
