Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino III, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Naomi Gruchacz, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); and Thomas Fattorusso, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced today the unsealing of Complaints charging Feroze Nazirbage, a pharmacy owner, and Mordechai Bar, a physician, with illegally diverting oxycodone and other controlled substances. Both Nazirbage and Bar were arrested today and will be presented tomorrow in White Plains federal court.
Nazirbage is associated with multiple pharmacies in and around New York City, including F&N Pharmacy, of which he is the president, and QV Pharmacy, where he has been observed working and directing customers. From at least about December 2022 up to the date of the Complaint, Nazirbage has conspired with others to dispense or distribute oxycodone and other controlled substances, in violation of the law, in exchange for cash. In addition to filling prescriptions that he knew were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting within the usual course of professional practice, Nazirbage also repeatedly sold controlled substances to a customer without a prescription in what is commonly referred to as a “backdoor sale.” Bar is a physician whose practice is located in New Rochelle, New York. From at least in or about January 2023 up to the date of the Complaint, Bar conspired with others to provide prescriptions not issued for a legitimate medical purpose for oxycodone, amphetamine, and alprazolam to patients in exchange for cash payments. Bar issued those prescriptions without conducting medical examinations of the patients and, in many cases, without even speaking to or meeting with the patients.
