PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Robert Gouge, Special Investigator 

Phone: (302) 739-4211 or (302) 236-0384

Date: March 17, 2005

Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Unit Arrests Dr. Keith Sokoloff on 60 Felony Counts

(Dover, DE): Attorney General M. Jane Brady today announced the arrest of Dr. Keith Sokoloff, a Newark, DE physician, by the Attorney General's Office - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Sokoloff has been charged with 60 felony counts, including 8 counts of Health Care Fraud, 26 counts of Delivery of a Schedule II Narcotic (primarily oxycontin), and 26 counts of Conspiracy Second Degree. The conduct alleged includes issuing prescriptions to individuals to allow them to illegally access oxycontin. The investigation revealed that those individuals then often sold those drugs illegally on the street. Sokoloff's office was located at the Kelway Professional Office Complex on Main St. in Newark.

Because oxycontin has been associated with serious physical consequences including death, being able to get tablets of known strength and quality has become important to those who abuse this drug. For this reason, prescription fraud associated with oxycontin abuse has become more prevalent. Attorney General Brady said, "The danger of this drug is not always recognized by those who abuse it. No one should take a prescription drug for which they have not received a proper prescription from their physician." 

The arrest came after a lengthy investigation conducted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, with assistance from the Delaware State Police and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Anyone who may have information is urged to contact Special Investigator Robert Gouge at (302) 739-4211 in the Attorney General's Dover office. 

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