US investigators have apprehended the founder and CEO of a telehealth company accused of orchestrating a $100 million scheme to illegally distribute over 40 million pills of Adderall and other controlled substances.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Ruthia He, the CEO of Done, conspired with the company’s clinical president, David Brody, “to provide easy access to Adderall and other stimulants for no legitimate medical purpose.”
Garland added that the executives exploited telemedicine regulations that were relaxed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Done Global, a San Francisco-based start-up, gained popularity during the pandemic by offering online access to Adderall through a monthly subscription fee.
Ms. He was arrested in Los Angeles and Dr. Brody in San Rafael, California. Both face charges of distributing controlled substances and could receive up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Adderall is a medication used to manage ADHD symptoms, which can include difficulty focusing. The charges come at a time when the US is experiencing a national shortage of the drug.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri accused the duo of spending millions on misleading social media advertisements.
“These charges are the Justice Department’s first criminal drug distribution prosecutions related to telemedicine prescribing through a digital health company,” Argentieri noted.
The scheme allegedly involved increasing subscription fees to inflate the company’s value and “unlawfully enrich themselves.”
The defendants are also accused of restricting information available to prescribers and instructing them to prescribe medications to patients who did not medically qualify.
Furthermore, Done patients were allegedly required to complete an initial screening with the prescriber in no more than 30 minutes.
Officials claim the illegal activities continued “even after being made aware that material was posted on online social networks about how to use Done to obtain easy access to Adderall and other stimulants, and that Done members had overdosed and died.”
The defendants are also charged with defrauding government healthcare programs Medicare and Medicaid, as well as pharmacies, out of at least $14 million, and conspiring to obstruct justice by deleting documents and emails.
Source-BBC
