Suburban NY Physician Traded Painkillers For Sex: Feds
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A suburban New York physician is facing federal charges after police say he illegally distributed pain medications to known drug addicts -- sometimes in exchange for sexual favors from female patients.
Federal prosecutors on Long Island say Dr. Michael Fagin surrendered Friday morning.
He was scheduled to be arraigned on an indictment later in the day. His attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
A 12-count indictment alleges that between May 2010 and September 2014, Fagin wrote painkiller prescriptions to people he knew were addicts.
Court documents say several women claim Fagin accepted sexual favors in exchange for controlled substance prescriptions.
WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reports Fagin once had his license suspended for two years while high on drugs. The suspension of license came after several NYC hospitals discovered he was diverting Opioid painkillers intended for patients and taking them himself.
His attorney claims these charges are just a government attempt to interfere with a family doctor's medical practice.
The arrest is the latest in a crackdown following the 2011 killings of four people at a Long Island pharmacy by a man who admitted being addicted to painkillers.
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