Huntingdon Valley 'Goodie Bag Doctor' Charged In Pill Scheme

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, PA — A Mongomery County man and Philadelphia doctor made millions by illegally selling dangerous pills in exchange for patients' cooperation in his health care fraud schemes, authorities said.

Andrew M. Berkowitz, 60, known as the "Goodie Bag Doctor" by patients, has been charged with 19 counts of health care fraud and 23 counts of distributing oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Berkowitz ran a medical practice in Philadelphia called A+ Pain Management, where he distributed "goodie bags" to patients, regardless of their individual ailments, according to authorities.

The "goodie bags" included Oxycodone, muscle relaxers, topical analgesics, various Schedule IV controlled substances, other pain killers, and medications which were not medically neccessary for the patient in question.

He then submitted pharmacy claims to the patients' insurers, receiving more than $4,000 per bag in return, authorities said.

Berkowitz also prescribed Oxycodone specifically to "pill seeking" patients, and in exchange the patients would accept the "goodie bag" and charges on their insurers, the US Attorney said.

Over a period of time from 2015 to 2018, Berkowitz made a total of $3.2 million through the fraudulent scheme.

If convicted on all counts, Berkowitz faces a maximum of 660 years behind bars, officials said.