TRENTON, NJ — Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor announced April 8 the arrest of a Newark doctor on charges of forgery, obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud and health care claims fraud. The arrest was the result of an investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Sagy Grinberg, 39, of Weehawken, was arrested on Friday, April 1, and charged with: health care claims fraud in the second degree; two counts of forgery in the third degree; obtaining Xanax by fraud in the third degree; obtaining Oxycodone/Percocet by fraud in the third degree; obtaining D-Amphetamine by fraud in the third degree; obtaining Adderall by fraud in the third degree; and obtaining Promethazine/Codeine by fraud in the third degree.
On or about March 19, 2021, Walgreens Pharmacy in the Vauxhall section of Union notified a New Jersey doctor that they were in possession of 12 prescriptions allegedly written by the doctor for Grinberg, who is also a doctor. The doctor informed Walgreens that he neither wrote nor verbally authorized the prescriptions for Grinberg. Thirteen alleged fraudulent prescriptions — primarily for Percocet — were identified as prescribed by this doctor and a second doctor between Oct. 18, 2019, and February 20, 2021.
During an interview with the second doctor on Sept. 23, 2021, the doctor advised that he and Grinberg previously worked together at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center as residents. This doctor confirmed that Grinberg was never his patient and he never wrote prescriptions for Grinberg. The doctor also confirmed that the signature on the prescription was not his.
The investigation revealed that Grinberg’s alleged scheme resulted in the issuance of 69 fraudulent prescriptions for about 141 drugs between Jan. 27, 2016, and Feb. 20, 2021. The alleged scheme included the following controlled dangerous substances: Oxycodone/Percocet, Xanax, D-Amphetamine, Adderall, Promethazine/Codeine, and other pharmaceutical drugs such as Cialis/Tadalafil, Dexilant and Dronabinol. Additionally, records revealed that Grinberg’s insurance company paid more than $6,000 for the fraudulent prescriptions through his benefits plan.
Second-degree health care claims fraud carries a maximum sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The third-degree forgery charges carry a maximum sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000. The third-degree drug charges carry a maximum sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $50,000.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proved guilty.
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