Former billionaire John Kapoor, Insys founder, on trial for alleged bribery
John Kapoor and six other executives of Insys are alleged to have paid bribes to get medical personn to prescribe opioid pain-killers
The trial of John Kapoor and other former executives of Insys Therapeutics begins January 28 at a courtroom in Boston before Judge Allison D. Burroughs. Kapoor and some on his former executive team are charged with allegedly paying bribes to get medical personnel to prescribe its drug Subsys. It is a powerful narcotic originally intended to treat cancer patients suffering intense pain.
Kapoor, 75, founder and former CEO of Insys, has a net worth of $875 million, according to Forbes. Earlier, for five years he was listed on the Forbes Billionaires list. Kapoor's fortune is mostly comprised of his stakes in Insys Therapeutics and generic drug manufacturer Akorn. John Nath Kapoor was born in the early 1940’s in Amritsar, India. He was the first one in his family to go to college.
In exchange for bribes and kickbacks from Insys’ managers, the medical practitioners wrote large numbers of prescriptions for the patients, most of whom were not diagnosed with cancer, according to the prosecutors. Many of the medical practitioners operated pain clinics. The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, mail and wire fraud, and violation of the anti-kickback law relating to a U.S. wide scheme to bribe medical practitioners to unnecessarily prescribe Subsys, a fentanyl-based pain medication. They are also charged with defrauding payers of the medication, including insurers.
In addition to Kapoor, six other Insys’ executives were charged: Michael L. Babich, 40, of Scottsdale, Ariz., the former CEO and President of the company; Alec Burlakoff, 42, of Charlotte, N.C., former Vice President of Sales; Richard M. Simon, 46, of Seal Beach, Calif., former National Director of Sales; former Regional Sales Directors, Sunrise Lee, 36, of Bryant City, Mich. and Joseph A. Rowan, 43, of Panama City, Fla.; and former Vice President of Managed Markets, Michael J. Gurry, 53, of Scottsdale, Ariz.
The indictment also alleges that the former corporate executives conspired to mislead and defraud health insurance providers who were reluctant to approve payment for the drug when it was prescribed for non-cancer patients. They achieved this goal by setting up the “reimbursement unit” which was dedicated to obtaining prior authorization directly from insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, according to the prosecutors. More information can be gotten from the Department of Justice’s Press Releases below.
Defendants Michael Babich and Alec Burlakoff pled guilty and their sentencing is set for May 2019.
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(c) All rights reserved. Copyright under United States Laws.