Toms River sports doctor sentenced for kickbacks tied to Lakewood pharmacy

The Toms River operator of a prominent sports medicine practice is sentenced to a year and a day in prison, for taking bribes in excess of $60,000 from a Lakewood druggist for referrals, and fudging records to collect insurance reimbursements.

Dr. James Morales, 47, operator of Shore Sports Medicine, had pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to accept kickacks and commit health care fraud, according to the office of Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick.

Vladimir Kleyman, 46, owner of Prescriptions R Us, was sentenced to 20 months in November 2015, for his guilty ples to kickback conspiracy for prescription referrals and health care fraud.

In a Camden federal courtroom, Morales was ordered to forfeit $90,000, fined $5,000,and ordered to serve two years of supervised release. Kleyman's sentence entails three years of supervised release and $477,000 restitution.

Morales admitted accepting cash between February and December 2013 from Prescriptions R Us, which created individualized drugs and creams, including a topical pain ointment containing ketamine, a Schedule III non-narcotic, along with lidocaine, diclofenac and other components, authorities said.

Morales told the court that in December 2013, at Kleyman's direction, he began to omit quantity information on prescriptions for paitents insured by Horizon. According to Morales, Kleyman claimed that the amount of pain cream that Morales prescribed exceeded the amount for which Horizon would pay reimbursement.

According to Fitzpatrick's office, the U.S. Attorney's Health Care and Government Fraud Unit has recovered more thatn $1,036,000,000 in settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture since its 2010 formation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob T. Elberg led the government's case. Morales was represented by West Orange attorneys A. Ross Pearlson, Matthew E. Beck, and William Finzio.