Former CHOP Pediatrician Charged in Oxycodone Investigation

Feds say she obtained pills illegally from South Philadelphia CVS.

via Google Maps

via Google Maps

The United States Attorney in Philadelphia has charged former Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia pediatrician Cynthia Masso with five counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud after she allegedly wrote nearly 500 fraudulent prescriptions for herself during a period when she was on staff at CHOP.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Masso, 42, wrote prescriptions for oxycodone products in the names of family members who had no idea that she was doing so. Then, allege the feds, the Queen Village doc went to the South Philadelphia CVS seen here, among other pharmacies, and picked up the fraudulently written prescriptions by posing as a nurse named Lisa Johns.

She is accused of obtaining the prescriptions between January 2010 and October 2013.

Masso’s LinkedIn page lists her current position as that of CHOP physician in the Virtua pediatric department in South Jersey, but CHOP explains that she hasn’t worked there since last year. She has not responded to calls seeking comment. According to the U.S. Attorney, Masso has yet to be arrested.

Follow @VictorFiorillo on Twitter.