A doctor is under arrest for allegedly writing thousands of medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says Dr. Emmanuel Lambrakis wrote the unnecessary prescriptions for nearly 2.4 million pills since January 2011.
Lambrakis lives in Manhattan, but had offices in Jamaica and Astoria.
The pills in question have a street value of at least $48 million, and prosecutors believe the doctor pocketed at least $2.5 million as a result.
Bharara said Lambrakis helped feed addictions of countless people and calls the arrest a critical part of the overall fight against the opioid abuse epidemic.
Lambrakis faces up to 20 years in prison.