Riverhead Physician Assistant Arrested For Conspiracy To Illegally Prescribe Oxycodone

Michael Troyan, a physician assistant who operated two urgent care clinics on the east end of Long Island was arrested this morning pursuant to a grand jury indictment[1] with conspiring to illegally distribute oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription pain medication.  Also this morning, a search warrant was executed at the East End Urgent and Primary Care in Riverhead by the DEA’s Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad which is comprised of agents and officers of the DEA, Nassau County Police Department, Rockville Centre Police Department, and Port Washington Police Department.   The Long Island Tactical Diversion Squad was also assisted by agents and officers of the Department of Health & Human Services, the Southampton Town Police Department, and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s East End Drug Taskforce.  The defendant is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Gary R. Brown at the United States Courthouse in Central Islip, New York.

The charges were announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James J. Hunt, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York.

The indictment and public filings allege that between November 2011 and October 2015, Troyan, a physician assistant with authority to prescribe controlled substances, issued prescriptions for thousands of oxycodone pills to co-conspirators for the purpose of illegally re-selling the pills for cash.  Troyan was captured on video in an undercover operation writing phony prescriptions for oxycodone and receiving large quantities of cash at his Riverhead medical office for prior illegal sales.  Troyan was receiving half of the profit from the sale of the oxycodone pills.

United States Attorney Capers stated, “As alleged, Troyan abused his authority to prescribe controlled substances and his position of trust as a physician assistant to illegally sell oxycodone in exchange for cash.  Such abuse by health care professionalswill not be tolerated.”  Mr. Capers extended his grateful appreciation to each of theparticipating law enforcement agencies for their assistance in this case.          

DEA Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt stated, “People who are addicted to opioid painkillers are forty times more likely to be addicted to heroin.   Cashing in on heroin’s hold over American communities, it is alleged that Michael Troyan wrote prescriptions to oxycodone dealers on the East End in exchange for half the cash profits from the resulting drug sales.  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.”      

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $1 million fine.

This case is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York as part of the Prescription Drug Initiative.  In January 2012, this Office and the DEA, in conjunction with the five District Attorneys in this jurisdiction, the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments, the New York City Police Department, and New York State Police, along with other key federal, state, and local government partners, launched the Prescription Drug Initiative to mount a comprehensive response to what the United States Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention has called an epidemic increase in the abuse of so-called opioid analgesics. To date, the Initiative has brought over 160 federal and local criminal prosecutions, including the prosecution of 18 health care professionals, taken civil enforcement actions against a hospital, a pharmacy, and a pharmacy chain, removed prescription authority from numerous rogue doctors, and expanded information-sharing among enforcement agencies to better target and pursue drug traffickers.  The Initiative also is involved in an extensive community outreach program to address the abuse of pharmaceuticals.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Allen Bode is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

Name: MICHAEL TROYAN
Age: 37
Residence: Riverhead, New York