Edward Sutor Jr. earned just over $90,000 a year as a Ventnor firefighter, but he was also lining his pockets with hundreds of thousands more through a massive prescription fraud conspiracy that defrauded the state of $50 million.

Sutor, 36, of Linwood, pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to defraud the state healthcare program in U.S. District Court in Camden. As part of his plea agreement, he’ll be ordered to pay restitution of $2.7 million.

In the scheme, public employees and pharmaceutical salespeople recruited government and school employees to seek unnecessary speciality medications for ailments including pain, scarring, fungal and libido problems. The medications, which were made to order at a compounding pharmacy that was in on the scheme, were extremely expensive. Some cost the state insurance program thousands of dollars for just a one-month supply, Judge Robert B. Kugler said in court Friday.

When the insurance program paid the money out, the conspirators were given kickbacks totaling millions. Sutor was a part owner in a company that got those kickbacks in exchange for finding teachers, cops and other public employees who would agree to having the prescriptions written for them by doctors who never even saw them.

He personally netted $335,552 for his role in the scheme between May of 2015 and February of 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. His cousin, Corey Sutor, pleaded guilty to similar charges in December and has yet to be sentenced.

In court Friday, Sutor stood in a black suit before Kugler and admitted he recruited other public employees to join in the scheme, getting kickbacks every time they got a prescription for some unnecessary and expensive compounded prescription.

Asked by Kugler if he knew what he was doing was wrong and illegal, Sutor said, “Yes, your honor.”

Sutor’s attorney, John Zarych, said his client resigned from the Ventnor Fire Department Friday morning.

“He’s here today because he wants to take responsibility for his actions,” Zarych said.

Sutor agreed when he signed the plea agreement in January that he would pay restitution of nearly $2.7 million, and forfeit the amount he personally earned in the conspiracy.

Most of the defendants charged in the scheme are from Atlantic County. Seven of the alleged ringleaders, who allegedly help funnel the kickbacks from the compounding pharmacy in Louisiana, were charged in March.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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