On Thursday, authorities revealed charges against a doctor and his son, accusing them of running a family-operated pill mill in New York. This operation represents what officials term as a blatant misuse of medical authority to illegally distribute prescription medications.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that during a span of about three months in 2022, the doctor allegedly issued fake prescriptions for addictive drugs without conducting any patient examinations. Meanwhile, his son was responsible for finding customers and handling payments as part of this illegal activity.
The father-son duo is accused of distributing various prescription drugs, including popular medications such as Percocet, Adderall, and Xanax.
Dr. Richard Taubman, a retired physician aged 71, along with his 33-year-old son, Eric Taubman, turned themselves in to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office. This followed a comprehensive, multi-year investigation conducted jointly by several agencies.
A close-up image of a hand holding a white prescription pill. (iStock)
“Their alleged plan to illegally distribute controlled substance prescriptions, prioritizing profit over public welfare, is not only reckless and hazardous but also indefensible,” stated Farhana Islam, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New York Enforcement Division, in an official release.
“Medical professionals are entrusted with protecting patients’ lives, not destroying them by exploiting them to addiction and harm.”
According to the DEA, the father is a retired obstetrician-gynecologist from Great Neck who returned to practice at a non-surgical weight loss center in Islandia, in Suffolk County, in early 2022.
Shelves with prescription drugs inside a pharmacy on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators allege that between April 5 and June 29, 2022, Taubman wrote dozens of prescriptions for controlled substances for multiple individuals without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the course of his practice.
He also submitted the prescriptions electronically from his home in Glen Head to pharmacies across Queens, officials further alleged.
Separately, the son allegedly provided the father with the personal information and drug requests of friends and acquaintances.
A DEA logo sits behind packages of drugs. (Fox News)
Numerous reports from pharmacist employees soon flooded the DEA, and the agency said the father’s prescription license was stripped roughly one month later.
The investigation also revealed that some individuals allegedly circulated the drugs even further, selling them for profit, trading them for cash and other drugs, or simply using them.
The father and son turned themselves in on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.
They are specifically charged with 23 counts of illegally selling or trying to sell drug prescriptions, along with one count of illegally teaming up to carry out this scheme.
If convicted, they face up to five and a half years in prison.
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