Date: Oct. 21, 2024 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Naomi Gruchacz, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), announced that Mordechai Bar pled guilty today to one count of illicitly distributing and dispensing oxycodone and other controlled substances. Bar pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, to whom his case is assigned. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Dr. Mordechai Bar hid behind his medical license while he prescribed oxycodone without a legitimate medical need. Like any drug dealer, he pumped highly addictive substances into the streets for profit, with no regard for the impact on the community. Along with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively prosecute physicians who help fuel the opioid crisis.” HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz said: “This physician accepts responsibility for illegally prescribing controlled substances, an action that is especially egregious given the ongoing opioid epidemic. HHS-OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure individuals involved in fraud schemes that exploit federal health care programs and threaten patient safety are held accountable.” According to documents filed in this case including the Complaint, the Information, Bar’s plea agreement, and statements made in Court: Between in or about January 2023 and in or about June 2024, Bar, a physician, repeatedly prescribed oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose and outside of the usual course of professional practice. Oxycodone, a Schedule II narcotic, is a highly addictive opioid that is used to treat severe and chronic pain, as well as pain associated with certain forms of cancer and other terminal illnesses. Oxycodone prescriptions command high prices in the black market because of demand by drug abusers. Bar often prescribed oxycodone in combination with amphetamines and/or alprazolam, controlled substances that are themselves frequently abused and resold illicitly. Bar sold these prescriptions for cash, and he did so without performing physical examinations or medical tests on the patients in whose names the prescriptions were issued. Bar of Larchmont, New York, pled guilty to one count of distributing oxycodone and other controlled substances, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The statutory maximum sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing will be determined by a judge. BAR is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seibel on February 18, 2025. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), DEA, HHS-OIG, FBI, and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) New York Strike Force. Mr. Williams also thanked the New York State Department of Health Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement for their assistance in this case. The OCDETF New York Strike Force provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the OCDETF New York Strike Force is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, reduce the illegal drug supply in the United States, and bring criminals to justice. The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jorja N. Knauer, David A. Markewitz, and Kathryn Wheelock are in charge of the prosecution. IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.
