Incident 40200
Incident 40200
A New York City doctor was sentenced to seven years in prison for illegally prescribing including powerful prescription narcotics that led to the overdose deaths of three patients, authorities said.
Dr. Lawrence Choy took a plea deal in Manhattan Supreme Court and pleaded guilty to 34 counts of manslaughter, reckless endangerment and the criminal sale of a controlled substance for running a pill mill out of his now-shuttered pain clinic. The court sentenced Dr. Lawrence Choy, former operator of a medical clinic in Flushing, Queens to seven years in prison and two years post release supervision on 34 counts stemming from illegal sales of prescriptions for controlled substances and the deaths of three patients.
The long-term investigation was conducted by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Prescription Drug Investigation Unit and Investigators Unit, the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, Group Z-23, and HRA, with assistance from the Nassau County Police Department and the Suffolk County Police Department.
A licensed physician since 1981, Choy specialized in internal medicine and nephrology (the treatment of diseased kidneys) and operated a full-time medical office at 142-20 Franklin Avenue in Flushing. He was arrested in Sheboygan, Wis., where he had fled after abandoning his New York City practice. In pleading guilty June 18, 2019, Choy admitted he illegally sold prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in lethal dosages and combinations, and failed to perform adequate examinations or follow up on signs of substance abuse. This reckless criminal conduct resulted in the deaths of three patients.
Approximate date(s) of the diversion:
09/10/2019
Where the Diversion Occurred:
142-20 Franklin Avenue, Flushing, NY, USA
Type of Healthcare Facility:
Hospital
Person Diverting:
Lawrence Choy
Profession of the person diverting:
Physician or Medical Doctor (MD)
Has the incident been reported?
e.g. to local law enforcement, county board of health, state licensure board, and/or federal DEA or FDA authorities?
Yes
To whom has the incident been reported?
Local Law Enforcement, , and/or federal DEA or FDA authorities?
