By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
HARLEM — A recognized Harlem doctor is facing serious federal drug charges for allegedly dealing as much as $1 million in oxycodone prescriptions illegally billed to Medicaid, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Physician Diana Williamson, 54, is accused of illegally filling oxycodone orders, including the popular Oxycotin, while working at the Citicare clinic, at 154 W. 127th St., authorities said.
Nine people in total faced drug and Medicaid fraud charges in connection to the alleged scam, through which about 11,000 pills were sold, according to a criminal complaint.
All but one were arrested and arraigned in Manhattan federal court on Thursday.
Williamson's work as an advocate for AIDS patients and drug abusers put her in the pages of Crain's New York in 1998, where she was touted as one of their "40 Under 40" rising stars.
The doctor "betrayed the practice of medicine" and "cheated an already-strapped Medicaid system out of almost a million dollars," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
Williamson and seven of the others charged by federal prosecutors were released on bail Thursday afternoon.
She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 if convicted.
