Nassau Doctor Charged With Illegally Trading Cash For Oxycodone: DOJ

GREAT NECK, NY — A Great Neck family practice doctor was indicted on 18 counts of illegally selling oxycodone for cash payments and trying to tamper with witnesses, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Dr. Roya Jafari-Hassad, 56, made "hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash" charging patients for oxycodone prescriptions with "no legitimate medical purpose."

Hassad, who lives in Bayside, will be arraigned in federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday.

"The defendant abandoned her medical oath to operate a pill mill in Nassau County," United States Attorney Breon Peace said.

“This Office will continue to protect our community from bad actors who flood our streets with dangerous drugs, even if they hide behind their prescription pad.”

Oxycodone is a highly addictive and often abused opioid.

Prosecutors conducted an undercover investigation, they say, and Hassad "prescribed oxycodone to an undercover agent at every visit including the first visit" over the course of a year.

They also say she contacted patients "and attempted to convince them to alter their testimony about their oxycodone prescriptions," after her medical office was served with a search warrant.

The cash payments for the illegal oxycodone prescriptions were in addition to insurance fraud, the indictment says. Hassad often billed insurance companies for procedures that weren't performed, prosecutors say.

Hasssad operated medical offices at 12 Bond St., Unit C2, Great Neck and 102-02 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, Queens.