Warren Doctor Wrote Fake Scripts For Oxycodone: Authorities

Warren, NJ -- A doctor with a practice in Warren was arrested for allegedly writing false prescriptions for tens of thousands of oxycodone tablets for people he never treated or examined in connection with a drug ring, acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced today.

Dr. George Beecher, 75, of New Providence, was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 16, on second-degree charges of conspiracy and distribution of a controlled dangerous substance.

Beecher was charged along with six other alleged members of a drug ring that distributed tens of thousands of high-dose pills of the addictive painkiller oxycodone.

Beecher was allegedly helping to supply the drug ring’s illegal distribution activities, which included street-level dealing and sales to bulk purchasers, Hoffman said.

Detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice searched Beecher’s medical office on Mount Boulevard Extension in Warren, where he allegedly issued prescriptions for tens of thousands of 30 milligram tablets of oxycodone in the names of individuals he never examined, treated, or even met, Hoffman said.

The investigation determined that between January 2013 and October 2015, Beecher allegedly issued fraudulent prescriptions in the names of over two dozen individuals for more than 60,000 tablets of oxycodone. He also allegedly wrote fraudulent prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

There allegedly was no legitimate medical purpose for the prescriptions.

Oxycodone pills can sell for a price of $20 to $30 apiece on the street, said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice.

Four others were arrested over the past two days on the same charges as Beecher:

• Andrew Stoveken, 65, of Edison, N.J., was arrested, Dec. 16,
• Jared Burnham, 31, of South Plainfield, N.J., was arrested yesterday,
• Marlena Burnham, 36, of Piscataway, N.J., was arrested yesterday, and
• George Sara, 37, of Bordentown, N.J., was arrested yesterday.

Another individual was charged with them but is not being identified because he remains a fugitive.

John J. Burnham, 41, of South Plainfield, who is the brother of Jared and Marlena Burnham, was arrested on Nov. 23 on a charge of possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute. He allegedly managed the supply side of the distribution ring and also oversaw bulk and street-level distribution by the ring, Hoffman said.

The five defendants who were arrested in the past two days were lodged in the Middlesex County Jail, with bails set at $100,000 (Stoveken and Sara), $75,000 (Beecher and Jared Burnham), or $20,000 (Marlena Burnham).

Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000.

The charges stem from “Operation Busted Script,” an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Prescription Fraud Investigation Strike Team, a newly formed team of detectives and attorneys in the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau that targets corrupt healthcare professionals and “pill mills.”

“We allege this doctor and his criminal associates were heartlessly cashing in on the epidemic of opiate abuse in our communities, where users frequently start with the potent pain pills this ring distributed and then are sucked into a dark void of addiction, heroin use, and, far too often, death,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “It’s outrageous that a doctor would enrich himself by peddling sickness and death. We’re cracking down on these ‘pill mills’ and the licensed professionals who perpetuate them.”

(Photos NJ Attorney General. Photo 1: Dr. George Beecher. Photo 2: Andrew Stoveken. Photo 3: George Sara. Photo 4: Jared Burnham. Photo 5: John Burnham. Photo 6: Marlena Burnham.)