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He wasn’t a doctor, but Michael Troyan, a physician assistant in Riverhead, Long Island, had the authority to write prescriptions.
And Federal agents said he wrote thousands, since 2011, to drug dealers — who wanted to sell painkillers on the street, mostly Oxycodone pills, which are highly addictive opioids.
Troyan was arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiring to illegally distribute Oxycodone. If convicted, Troyan, who operated East End Urgent and Primary Care in Riverhead, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The United States Attorney for the Eastern District, Robert Capers, said Troyan was captured on video writing phony prescriptions for Oxycodone and receiving large quantities of cash at his Riverhead office for prior illegal sales.
The indictment against Troyan charges he was receiving half of the profit from the sale of the Oxycodone pills.
DEA Special Agent in charge, James Hunt, pointed out, “People who are addicted to opioid painkillers are 40 times more likely to be addicted to heroin,” adding, “DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify the diverted painkiller suppliers, be it an oxy street dealer, a rogue doctor, or a greedy physician’s assistant.”
Since 2012, there have been a series of federal prosecutions under the Prescription Drug Initiative — 160 federal and local cases.
Troyan was expected to face a judge at federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday afternoon.
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