Doc to Pharmacy Killer Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Dealing Painkillers

A former Great Neck doctor was reportedly sentenced to prison Tuesday for illegally prescribing highly addictive pills to drug dealers and patients who were addicts.

Eric Jacobson, 54, of Huntington, was sentenced to eight years in prison for distributing the pills to people such as David Laffer, who killed four people in a Medford pharmacy in 2011 to feed an “ugly addiction to prescription painkillers,” according to Newsday.

Jacobson pleaded guilty to 19 counts of illegal distribution of the painkiller oxycodone in May 2014.

The former physician cried in court on Tuesday, told the judge he was ashamed of his actions and said “it wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone,” Newsday reports.

As part of his plea deal, Jacobson agreed to forfeit $250,000 that he earned as a result of his illegal distribution of oxycodone.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jacobson illegally distributed oxycodone to people he knew were abusing the drug or re-selling it to addicts from Dec. 2009 to June 2012.

Jacobson would reportedly charge these people, known as “doctor-shoppers,” various amounts of cash for each prescription used. The doctor-shoppers would then abuse the drugs or re-sell them to addicts and other users for profit.

Jacobson surrendered his DEA license authorizing him to prescribe controlled substances after authorities executed a federal search warrant at his office in Dec. 2011. However, Jacobson continued to personally write prescriptions to illegally distribute oxycodone pills and used other healthcare professionals to continue to distribute these drugs illegally, according to USAO.

“Instead of providing needed medical services to his community, Dr. Jacobson directly contributed to the tragedy of prescription drug abuse that has swept across our district and our nation,” United States Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said in a press release.