New Jersey: A doctor from is charged with 58 counts of opioid fraud
New Jersey: According to US prosecutors, a New Jersey doctor is accused of operating an opioid “pill mill,” trading prescriptions for sexual favors, and defrauding the state’s Medicaid program over a number of years in a comprehensive 58-count federal indictment.
Ritesh Kalra, 52, of Secaucus City, New Jersey, was charged with health care fraud, running a drug-involved establishment, and illegally distributing opioids. This week, internist Kalra made her first court appearance and was arraigned in federal court in Newark.
After a grand jury indictment, Kalra, who was first indicted by criminal complaint in July 2025, is now facing additional charges.
According to federal investigators, Kalra often administered high-dose opioids without a valid medical reason between January 2019 and February 2025. According to the prosecution, he wrote more than 31,000 oxycodone prescriptions throughout that time, including on days when he wrote more than 50.
Kalra allegedly ran a pill mill out of his doctor’s office, dispensing promethazine and oxycodone with codeine in violation of standard medical practice, according to court filings. Investigators were informed by a number of former staff members that female patients claimed Kalra had sexually touched them and sought sexual favors in return for prescriptions for opioids.
According to testimonies given in court, one patient claimed that Kalra had sexually abused them on many occasions, including forcing anal intercourse during professional visits. While detained at the Essex County Correctional Facility, another patient reportedly continued to get opioid prescriptions from Kalra even though they had no communication with him.
Doctors are aware of the devastating effects that opioid addiction may have if it is not treated, according to FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy. “Dr. Kalra allegedly fabricated appointments, demanded sexual favors in exchange for prescriptions, and exploited his position of authority for financial gain.”
Along with the drug distribution charges, Kalra is also charged with charging for fictitious office appointments in order to defraud the New Jersey Medicaid program.
The maximum punishment for each of the 36 charges of opioid distribution is 20 years in jail and a $1 million fine. Maintaining a drug-related establishment is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. The penalties for each of the 21 charges of health care fraud include up to 10 years in jail and fines of up to $250,000, or double the gross profit or loss resulting from the crime.