A Bergen County doctor was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for distributing opioids without a legitimate medical reason and falsifying medical records to cover it up, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
According to U.S. Attorney Sellinger, Robert Delagente, 48, of Oakland, previously pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, distribution of controlled dangerous substances and falsifying medical records.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Beginning in May 2014, Delagente was a doctor at a medical practice called North Jersey Family Medicine (NJFM) in Oakland.
Delagente knowingly prescribed controlled substances, such as oxycodone, Percocet, Tylenol with codeine, and various benzodiazepines (alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, and temazepam), outside the ordinary course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.
He ignored the inherent danger and medical risk of overdose, drug abuse, and death that can accompany prescriptions of highly addictive opioids, benzodiazepines, and muscle relaxers, both on their own and in combination with one another.
Delagente also was charged with altering the medical records of patients who received controlled substance prescriptions from him after law enforcement officials had subpoenaed the records in late April 2019.
In addition to the prison term, Delagente was sentenced to three years of supervised release.