New York Doctor and Son Allegedly Operate Hazardous Side-Business Scheme

On Thursday, authorities revealed charges against a doctor and his son, accusing them of running a pill mill in New York. This family-operated scheme, according to officials, represents a flagrant misuse of medical credentials to illegally distribute prescription medications.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that over a span of approximately three months in 2022, the doctor allegedly issued fake prescriptions for addictive drugs without conducting patient examinations. Meanwhile, his son was responsible for identifying buyers and handling payments as part of the operation.

The duo is said to have distributed various controlled substances, including medications commonly known as Percocet, Adderall, and Xanax, according to authorities.

Dr. Richard Taubman, a 71-year-old retired physician, along with his 33-year-old son, Eric Taubman, voluntarily turned themselves in to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday. Their surrender follows a comprehensive, multi-year investigation conducted by law enforcement agencies.

A close-up of a hand holding a white prescription pill. (iStock)

“Their alleged scheme to unlawfully distribute controlled substance prescriptions, placing profits above public health, is not only reckless and dangerous, but unconscionable,” DEA New York Enforcement Division Special Agent in Charge Farhana Islam said in a statement. 

“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.