New Jersey Doctor Charged with Unlawfully Distributing Adderall and Xanax

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey doctor was arrested on November 4, 2025, for unlawfully prescribing Adderall, a Schedule II controlled substance, and Xanax, a Schedule IV controlled substance, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba announced.

David Holbrook, 70, of Bloomsbury, New Jersey was charged by Indictment with nine counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances, each in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Holbrook appeared on November 4, 2025, for his initial appearance and arraignment in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa. The defendant was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On nine occasions between or around January 2021 and September 2022, Holbrook, a licensed psychiatrist, prescribed Adderall and Xanax to multiple patients outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.  If convicted, Holbrook faces a statutory maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count.

Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Habba credited special agents, task force officers, and diversion investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz in Newark, New Jersey, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake A. Nasar of the Office’s Health Care Fraud and Opioid Enforcement Unit.                                                 

Victims with any information regarding Dr. David Holbrook may contact the DEA New Jersey Field Division at 571-362-3700.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel:         Jay Surgent, Esq.