A New Jersey doctor has permanently lost his medical license after pleading guilty to a federal charge of unlawfully distributing a controlled substance, officials announced. Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs said the State Board of Medical Examin ers permanently revoked the medical license of Larry Pettis, a pain management specialist in Williamstown, Gloucester County. Officials said Pettis has not practiced medicine in New Jersey since January 2025, when he voluntarily surrendered his medical license through an Interim Consent Order while federal criminal charges against him were pending. Those charges stemmed from his arrest by federal agents in December 2024. Officials said the evidence against Pettis alleged that he pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances so that another individual, who was unable to issue such prescriptions, could issue the prescriptions when Pettis was out of the office. The evidence also showed that Pettis issued prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances without first assessing patients, and that he allegedly altered and fabricated medical records for patients receiving controlled substances, according to officials. Pettis later pleaded guilty to unlawfully distributing a controlled substance. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October 2026. The Division of Consumer Affairs’ Drug Control Unit also permanently revoked Pettis’ registration to prescribe controlled dangerous substances in New Jersey. Officials said Pettis must immediately cease and desist from all patient contact at any location in New Jersey, and from prescribing medications and rendering medical care. He is also barred from entering the premises of his former medical practice during business hours when patients may be present. Additionally, officials said Pettis is prevented from managing, overseeing, supervising, or influencing the practice of medicine or provision of healthcare activities, including by testifying as an expert witness or being retained as a consulting expert, in the Garden State. “There is no place in the medical profession for doctors who abuse their prescribing privileges by unlawfully distributing controlled substances that fuel addiction, overdoses, and death,” Davenport said “We will continue to protect the public by seeking the strongest possible sanctions against physicians who break the law and expose their patients to grave harm.” ...read more read less