License suspended for pill-pushing sex fiend NJ doctor, fed and state officials say

A New Jersey doctor accused of prescribing opioids in exchange for sexual favors from patients has seen his license to work suspended by state officials.

Ritesh Kalra, whose office is in Bergen County, also allegedly defrauded New Jersey Medicaid by billing for visits that never happened, according to federal prosecutors.

Kalra, a Secaucus resident, appeared last month in Newark federal court, facing three counts of illegal opioid distribution and two counts of healthcare fraud.

The primary care and internal medicine physician has run his practice in Fair Lawn.

As of Tuesday, the state Board of Medical Examiners has temporarily suspended his license.

Read More: NJ doctor accused of sexually abusing two female patients

Between January 2019 and February 2025, Kalra issued over 31,000 prescriptions for oxycodone, often writing 50 or more prescriptions in a single day, prosecutors said.

He also frequently prescribed promethazine with codeine, prosecutors said.

Several of Kalra’s former employees reported that multiple female patients had complained of sexual misconduct, including allegations that Kalra demanded oral sex and other sexual acts in return for opioid prescriptions, federal prosecutors said.

One patient described being sexually assaulted multiple times by Kalra during clinical appointments, according to a federal complaint.

Another patient who was in prison allegedly continued to receive opioid prescriptions from Kalra, despite having no in-person contact while incarcerated.

Kalra has been accused of essentially running a “pill mill out of his medical office,” routinely prescribing high-dose opioids despite knowing whether patients were misusing, abusing, or reselling the medications.

On July 17, he appeared in Newark federal court and was released under home detention and a $100,000 unsecured bond.

His release conditions included an order to close his practice by July 31.

In a consent order filed with the state board on Aug. 6, Kalra agreed to the temporary suspension of his medical license, pending the outcome of criminal charges against him.

State Attorney General Matt Platkin slammed the “alarming" allegations and encouraged anyone who has been treated inappropriately by Kalra to file a complaint with the Board of Medical Examiners.

“Public safety demands that this physician have no professional contact with the public while the criminal case against him moves forward,” Platkin said.

“Rather than offering help, Dr. Kalra exploited his victims at their most vulnerable—using opioids as leverage in exchange for sexual favors—further deepening their addiction and worsening the crisis” DEA New Jersey Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz said in a written release last month.

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