Prosecutors at the Jersey Shore subpoenaed employee records from two school districts as a probe into potential prescription drug fraud widens.
The Margate City School District and Ventnor School District received the writs Friday from the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office requesting information about employees and their health insurance coverage, officials in both cities tell NBC10.
John DiNicola, the Margate City school superintendent, said his district will be turning over the names of all district staff to comply with the order.
Officials with the Ventnor City school district could not immediately be reached for comment.
The subpoenas are similar to ones doled out in recent weeks and months to several Atlantic County municipalities including Margate, Ventnor, and Atlantic City.
County and federal prosecutors are investigating whether municipal employees have been engaged in a scheme involving prescription drugs. Both the FBI and Atlantic County district attorney are conducting parallel investigations.
Records uncovered by NBC10 showed a massive spike in brand name prescription drug costs by Margate City employees — from nearly $714,000 in 2014 to more than $3.3 million in 2015, with only a small increase in the number of prescriptions filled.
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So far, no one has been indicted or charged, but police and fire department employees were mentioned in past subpoenas.
Last week, Atlantic County prosecutor Damon Tyler said the probe could involve public employees, pharmaceutical reps or doctors, and have hundreds of defendants.
