Great Neck doctor convicted of selling opioids for no medical purpose

A Great Neck doctor was convicted of distributing oxycodone for no medical purpose Wednesday, officials said.

After a 10-day trial before U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown in Central Islip, Roya Jafari-Hassad, 58, of Bayside, was found guilty "on eight counts...charging her with prescribing oxycodone pills without a legitimate medical purpose," according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

The jury found Jafari-Hassad, whose practice is in Great Neck, guilty of selling monthly oxycodone prescriptions without a medicinal reason in exchange for hundreds of dollars in cash, according to Peace’s office.

An investigation of the doctor from Great Neck in 2021 found that on 10 occasions over a nine-month period, Jafari-Hassad sold prescriptions amounting to hundreds of oxycodone pills to an undercover detective "who claimed he had pain" in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash, prosecutors said. She typically charged around $350 or $700 for 15- or 30-day supplies of the addictive substance.

"As proven, Dr. Hassad was a drug dealer who disgracefully dispensed highly addictive oxycodone pills without any regard for the well-being of the patient but with plenty of interest in their cash," Peace said in a statement. He added that "Corrupt doctors like this defendant, who value greed over their oath to do no harm, fuel the opioid epidemic."

But Bruce Barket, one of the defendant's attorneys, said he would appeal and seek a new trial. He said Jafari-Hassad had been acquitted of witness tampering and seven other charges of distributing oxycodone, adding that the undercover detective “tricked” Hassad “into issuing a prescription that the jury found was appropriate and kept going back” for other prescriptions

“When she hesitated” to keep issuing prescriptions, Barket said the detective “gave her a forged MRI to convince her that he was really injured.”

Jafari-Hassad faces up to 20 years for each of the eight counts for which she was found guilty on Wednesday, according to Peace’s office. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney said a sentencing date will not be set until after Jafari-Hassad faces trial for two separate counts of health care fraud. A trial date for these charges could be set Thursday morning, the spokesperson said.