Two Paterson women admitted this week to working with a Bergen County doctor to prescribe thousands of opioid pills without a valid medical reason, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced Thursday.
Jasmine McGregor, 32, and Jenelle Lewis, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly conspiring and agreeing with another person to distribute oxycodone outside the ordinary course of business and for no legitimate medical purpose, the department announced.
Federal prosecutors say the pair conspired with Dr. Lisa Ferraro of Hillsdale to prescribe opioid painkillers to people who were not actually Ferraro’s patients, without conducting any physical exams or asking questions about symptoms to determine whether they were actually needed.
According to investigators, McGregor worked with Ferraro from July 2022 to Oct. 3, 2023, while Lewis worked with the doctor from January 2019 to September 2023.
The office did not disclose the nature of its relationship with Ferraro.
Authorities said Ferraro wrote prescriptions for 630 20 mg oxycodone tablets and approximately 11,410 30 mg oxycodone tablets while she was dating McGregor. Ferraro also wrote prescriptions for approximately 9,450 30 mg oxycodone tablets while she was dating Lewis, authorities said.
Ferraro also faces the same charges, but his case was still pending trial as of Thursday, the office said.
McGregor’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20, while Lewis’s is scheduled for Dec. 9, officials said.
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Chris Sheldon can be contacted at [email protected].
