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PHOTO: CANVA
PHOTO: CANVA
Jersey doctor admits role in $170K cancer medicine scam
Matthew Fazelpoor//June 2, 2023//
Listen to this articleA North Jersey doctor this week admitted to using her medical license – and allowing others to use it – to purchase prescription cancer medicine under false pretenses for profit.
In Newark federal court May 31, Dr. Anise Kachadourian, 55, of Towaco, a board-certified oncologist, pleaded guilty to an information charging her with unlawfully selling prescription cancer medication, which had been previously purchased using her medical license and under the representation that such medication was to be used to treat her patients.
“While working in her medical practice’s offices in various locations in New Jersey, Kachadourian was recruited by an individual who owned a pharmacy and also owned and operated two businesses that were wholesale distributors of prescription drugs,” according to court documents and statements released by prosecutors. “At the request of this individual and others working with him, in return for payment of approximately $5,000 per month, Kachadourian used her medical license … to purchase expensive prescription drugs, primarily, cold-chain biologic infusion medications that typically are used to treat cancers, macular degeneration, and autoimmune diseases.
“By recruiting and using Kachadourian and her medical license to purchase the drugs, these individuals were able to obtain prescription drugs from the pharmaceutical manufacturers’ authorized distributors that they would not otherwise have been permitted to purchase. They were then able to sell them at a profit through their two businesses.”
Through the scheme, which ran October 2016-January 2017, Kachadourian was paid more than $170,000 for purchasing, and allowing others to purchase in her name, millions of dollars in prescription drugs.
Kachadourian is the third doctor to plead guilty in connection with this scheme.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6, 2024. The charge she admitted to is punishable by a maximum of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In her plea agreement, Kachadourian also agreed to make restitution for the full amount of any loss resulting from the scam.
