Disgraced Bordentown doctor arrested, charged with opioid drug distribution

MOUNT HOLLY — Not exactly a good doctor.

Morris “Moishe” Starkman, the Burlington County physician who lost his state medical examiner’s license for prescribing massive quantities of opioid pain pills, has been arrested and charged with numerous drug distribution offenses.

Starkman, 60, of Cinnaminson, also faces a litany of fraud charges in the explosive criminal case, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday in a news release.

Authorities took Starkman into police custody Nov. 22 following the execution of a search warrant at his home. Detectives seized electronic devices and business records from Starkman’s house, the prosecutor’s office said.

The disgraced doctor was charged with eight counts of second-degree distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, four counts of second-degree healthcare claims fraud and two counts of second-degree insurance fraud.

An investigation conducted by county, state and federal authorities determined Starkman had issued more than 1 million doses of opioids between January 2015 and January 2018 from his infamous Bordentown Family Practice in Bordentown Township, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Starkman had at least eight patients who received high volumes of painkillers: “They each received anywhere from four to 10 times the maximum dose recommended by the Centers for Disease Control,” the prosecutor’s office said in the news release. “The investigation revealed that Starkman would perform — at most — cursory examinations on patients before prescribing large amounts of opioids without medical justification, consideration of whether his patients were benefitting from the prescription painkillers he routinely and repeatedly prescribed, or exploration of the underlying causes for their pain.”

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced the charges against Starkman on Wednesday, detailing the doctor’s alleged drug distribution scheme and his alleged practice of filing phony health care claims to pad his pockets and defraud medical insurance companies out of tens of thousands of dollars.

“He was one of the top prescribers in New Jersey,” Prosecutor Coffina said of Starkman. “The number of opioids he prescribed for the three-year period reviewed during the investigation was enough to provide in excess of three doses to every man, woman and child residing in Burlington County.”

Amid the allegations of doctor-patient impropriety, the State Board of Medical Examiners permanently revoked Starkman’s license in April 2018 under a consent order. The board previously suspended his license in August 2017.

An affidavit of probable cause paints Starkman as a bad doctor who would accept cash from uninsured patients seeking opioids on demand without scheduling an appointment. Some of the patients literally worked for Starkman as employees of the Bordentown Family Practice on Route 130, according to the affidavit.

As previously reported by The Trentonian, one of Starkman’s patients died in May 2015 from a fatal drug overdose. The patient, a 22-year-old man, had last visited Starkman in March 2015, and the physician prescribed the young man 120 oxycodone pills, authorities said.

“Physicians who have abandoned their medical judgment,” Coffina said, “and indiscriminately prescribed opioids to patients they knew or should have known were becoming addicted to them must be held accountable for their role in this ongoing health crisis.”

Deemed a low-risk offender, Starkman was released from custody following a first appearance in Burlington County Superior Court, according to the prosecutor’s office, which said the case is being prepared for presentation to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Burlington County Prosecutors Office Former Bordentown Physician Indicted for Narcotics Distribution and Fraud

Burlington County Times Action News Story Statement Of Probable Cause - 71 Pages PDF File