A Paterson doctor who previously admitted distributing opioids without a legitimate medical reason was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Lisa Ferraro, 67, of Hillsdale, previously pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and intentionally conspiring and agreeing with others to distribute oxycodone outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey.
From January 2019 to Sept. 23, 2023, Ferraro practiced internal medicine in Paterson until her arrest a month later, the office said.
During that time, she participated in a conspiracy to prescribe oxycodone, an opioid pain medication, to people who posed as patients but whom Ferraro never physically examined or questioned about symptoms, investigators said. Over the course of the scheme, she wrote prescriptions for tens of thousands of 30mg oxycodone pills.
“Physicians are entrusted with extraordinary power over the lives and health of their patients,” Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello said in a statement. “When a physician abandons that duty and instead fuels opioid addiction for profit, the damage ripples far beyond a single exam room and into entire communities.”