DOJ accuses doctor of illegally prescribing opiates in exchange for sex

A New Jersey physician has been indicted for allegedly defrauding Medicaid by providing illegitimate prescriptions for opiates in exchange for sexual favors.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 51-year-old Ritesh Kalra, MD, wrote over 31,000 scripts for opioids between January 2019 and February 2025, primarily for oxycodone. In some cases, Kalra allegedly issued nearly 50 prescriptions for controlled substances in a single day.

In operating what the DOJ calls a “pill mill,” he has been charged in a five-count indictment that includes three counts of “distributing opioids outside the usual course of professional practice, not for a legitimate medical purpose and in exchange for sexual favors,” and two counts of healthcare fraud.

Prosecutors claim former employees of Kalra reported female patients complained that the doctor inappropriately touched them and requested sex in exchange for opioids. One patient has accused Kalra of multiple incidents of sexual assault.

Fraud and coercion were not limited to office visits, the DOJ said. When patients were incarcerated for various crimes, he allegedly continued to send them prescriptions for opiates without conducting any visits.

Kalra is accused of billing Medicaid and health insurers not only for dubious opioid prescriptions but also for patient encounters that the DOJ says never occurred. To cover his tracks, he allegedly forged medical notes documenting fictitious appointments.