Ex-Doctor From Cinnaminson Prescribed More Than 1M Opioids: Cops

CINNAMINSON, NJ — A former physician from Cinnaminson illegally prescribed millions of doses of highly-addictive opioid pills out of his Bordentown Township practice while illegally billing patients for three years, according to authorities.

One of 62-year-old Morris “Moishe” Starkman’s patients even died of an overdose due to Starkman’s excessive prescriptions, according to Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina.
Starkman now faces a 21-count indictment on charges of narcotics distribution and fraud charges, according to authorities.

He is accused of prescribing nearly 1.4 million doses of Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Oxymorphone, Hydromorphone, morphine and fentanyl between Jan. 1, 2015, and Jan. 1, 2018, authorities said.

Starkman is said to have prescribed 11 doses of opioids per day on average to eight patients during that time, authorities said. One was prescribed 17,460 doses, the equivalent of more than 15 doses a day, authorities said.

They each received anywhere from four to 10 times the maximum dose recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Starkman would issue prescriptions without medical justification and after minimal examination, authorities said. Little consideration was given to whether his patients were benefitting from the prescription painkillers he routinely and repeatedly prescribed, or exploration of the underlying causes for their pain, according to authorities.

One patient who visited Starkman in December 2014 was slurring and falling asleep during their visit, but Starkman continued to prescribe that person Oxycontin anyway, authorities said.

A month later, that same patient visited Starkman because he was “sick” and “ran out of all meds early again,” according to authorities. At that point, Starkman wrote him a prescription for a higher dosage of Oxycodone, authorities said.

The patient was then admitted to a mental health and addiction treatment facility where he had sought help for anxiety and panic attacks, authorities said.

The patient was there for a week. Three days later, Starkman prescribed that patient 120 additional Oxycodone pills. However, because there wasn’t enough evidence to link Starkman to that patient’s death, Starkman has not been charged with the patient’s death.

“Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from overdoses and millions more struggle with Substance Use Disorder,” Coffina said. “In a great many of these cases, the person’s addiction began with prescribed opioids. Physicians who violated their oaths and patients’ trust by indiscriminately prescribing opioid medication without monitoring how their patients were doing on the drugs and whether they were becoming addicted must be held accountable for criminal conduct that has contributed to the destruction of lives and the relentless crisis of addiction so many are still dealing with.”

Starkman also maintained inadequate records, failing to document treatment plans for pain management or opioid use, or provide a legitimate medical purpose for prescribing such high quantities for an extended period of time, authorities said.

The reliance of his patients on the highly-addictive opioids he was prescribing insured they would frequently return to the practice for refills and be charged for an office visit, according to authorities.

At the same time, Starkman submitted fraudulent health care claims to insurance companies for over $50,000 for services that were unauthorized, not eligible for reimbursement, not provided as represented or not rendered, according to authorities.

In late 2016, an insurance company contacted authorities over suspicions over the high number of opioids Starkman was prescribing, authorities said.

The State Board of Medical Examiners temporarily suspended Starkman’s license in August 2017. Under a consent order reached in April 2018, Starkman agreed to permanently surrender his license to practice medicine in New Jersey.

Starkman was initially charged following the execution of a search warrant at his home in 2019. During that search, detectives said they seized multiple electronic devices, along with business, financial and medical records. Read more here: Cinnaminson Man Illegally Prescribed Over 1M Opioids: Prosecutor

A grand jury has returned an indictment charging Starkman with 15 counts of second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance; five counts of second-degree health care claims fraud; and one count of third-degree insurance fraud. An arraignment in superior court will be held soon.