By: Tracie Carter
A federal judge sentenced a former employee of a Mount Holly medical practice to two and a half years in prison for selling fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger reported Monday.
Federal authorities said Jose Colon, 37, of Sicklerville, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn to an information charging him with the distribution of controlled substances. Judge O’Hearn imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Colon, who is not a medical provider, used the identities of doctors with whom he worked to make and sell fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances, including Oxycodone, Adderall, Percocet, and Xanax.
Colon sometimes met his customers in person with a prescription pad to sell the fraudulent prescriptions for cash. He also submitted fraudulent prescriptions electronically to pharmacies in exchange for electronic payments from his customers.
Colon advised his customers on how to fill the fraudulent prescriptions, including instructing them to wait until the medical practice was closed so that he would be able to answer any phone calls from the pharmacies questioning the validity of the fraudulent prescriptions.
In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Hearn sentenced Colon to three years of supervised release.