New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Terminates Middlesex Printing Company's Authority to Print Prescription Blanks After Company Issued Thousands of Blanks to Unauthorized Individuals
NEWARK – The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has terminated a Middlesex County printing company’s authority to print prescription blanks for physicians after the Division found the company failed to follow security requirements and issued 25,000 blanks to unauthorized individuals.
Downtown Printing Center of New Brunswick must stop producing and distributing prescription blanks for at least three years, and must destroy or forward to the state all equipment used in the production of blanks, and any materials it has in stock, under a Final Consent Order terminating the company’s authorization as a New Jersey Prescription Blanks (NJPB) vendor.
“New Jersey is fighting a prescription drug epidemic that’s ruining lives and tearing apart families and we need everyone to do their part in keeping drugs out of the hands of dealers and abusers,” said Acting Attorney General Robert Lougy. “Issuing prescription blanks without verifying they’re going to licensed prescribers only does harm to our efforts to fight this epidemic.”
“We have strict security regulations in place to ensure that only authorized prescribers whose licenses are in good standing have access to prescription blanks,” said Steve Lee, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. “Any vendor that fails to follow those procedures, whether through negligence or by design, will be penalized.”
Between August 2012 and December 2014, Downtown Printing filled six orders totaling 25,000 blank prescriptions in the name of three individuals claiming to be licensed physicians. None of the individuals whose names were on the order forms were New Jersey licensed physicians. Their names are being withheld by the Division because none of them were involved in the scheme and were unaware their names were being used on the orders.
On Aug. 22, 2012, Downtown Printing received one order for 5,000 NJPBs in the name of “physician” G.W. The order was shipped to an address in Sayreville.
Between January and November of 2013, Downtown Printing received three separate orders totaling 10,000 NJPBs in the name of “physician” C.A. The orders were placed by an individual who claimed she was a nurse in C.A.’s Toms River practice. Over the course of 11 months the orders were filled and shipped via UPS to a residential property in Toms River.
On Nov. 14, 2014, Downtown Printing received an order for 5,000 NJPBs in C.A.’s name. The order was picked up at the printing company by an individual whose identity was not verified.
On Nov. 18, 2013, Downtown Printing received an order for 5,000 NJBPs in the name of “physician” L.R. The order was filled and shipped by UPS to the same Toms River address as C.A.’s orders.
Following an investigation, the Division found Downtown Printing violated the regulations for ordering NJPBs by, among other things, failing to verify that the blanks were being issued to prescribers’ whose licenses were active and in good standing, and that they were being shipped to the prescribers’ addresses of record in the Division’s database. Downtown Printing also failed to verify the identity and authority of the individuals who ordered NJPBs and failed to verify the identity and authority of the individual that picked up the order at the printing company.
Downtown Printing agreed to resolve the matter by surrendering its authority as a NJPB vendor for a minimum of three years. The printing company may reapply for vendor authorization following the mandatory termination period. If approved, the company would be on probation for at least two years, during which it would be subject to six-month audits of its NJPB ordering and printing processes.
Investigators with the Enforcement Bureau within the Division of Consumer Affairs conducted this investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Delia DeLisi from the Professional Boards Prosecution Section in the Division of Law represented the State in this matter.
Consumers who believe they have been cheated or scammed by a business, or suspect any other form of consumer abuse,
can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting
its website or by calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll free within New Jersey) or 973-504- 6200.
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