Federal authorities have charged several more people associated with a San Francisco telehealth startup as part of a widening crackdown on the illegal distribution of Adderall and other stimulants intended to treat people with attention deficit disorder.
The charges, announced Thursday by the US Department of Justice, come two weeks after Done Global founder and CEO Ruthia He and top-ranking physician David Brody were arrested on charges of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction.
The latest indictments name Done Global executive Riley Levy, 30, doctor Christopher Luccese, 58, and nurses Yina Cruz, 37, Katrina Pratcher, 70, and Erin Kim, 54.
Authorities say the defendants capitalized on telehealth regulations that were loosened during the Covid-19 pandemic by selling powerful stimulants to patients without a medical need for them.
Federal prosecutors describe Kim as “one of the most productive prescribers” working for Done Health. According to charging documents unsealed this week, the nurse from Orlando, Florida, allegedly fabricated patient records and signed prescriptions for Adderall and other stimulants for patients who did not meet criteria for ADHD.
In all, prosecutors say Kim received $800,000 from Done Global for prescribing 1.5 million pills — many of them through the company’s automatic refill policy that allowed him to dispense the drug without having to interact with patients beyond an initial appointment.
“This allegedly resulted in the nurse practitioner prescribing Adderall and other stimulants to individuals suffering from drug addiction and continued to issue Adderall prescriptions for months after the patients’ overdose deaths,” prosecutors said in a statement Thursday.
Despite the ongoing investigation and widely publicized prosecution, Done Global continued to promote its services on Google and TikTok until the Wall Street Journal asked about the ads this week.
A spokesperson for Done Global told The Standard that the company denies wrongdoing.
“Done Global strongly disagrees with the criminal charges filed last week against our founder, Ruthia He and Dr. David Brody, which are based on events that primarily occurred between February 2020 and January 2023,” said a statement posted on the company’s website. “Since our founding, Done Global has worked to make mental health care accessible to tens of thousands of Americans trapped in a spiraling national crisis.”
The company said it will stay in business while the court case continues so its patients don’t lose access to mental health care.
“At the same time, we will continue to support our physicians as they exercise independent clinical judgment, practice evidence-based medicine and provide best-in-class healthcare,” the statement said.
In the indictment filed against Done Global’s He and Brody on June 13, federal prosecutors say the pair charged customers a monthly subscription fee in exchange for access to Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin, among other stimulants. Prosecutors say the scheme allowed Done Global to illegally distribute 40 million pills amid a nationwide shortage.
To achieve that, prosecutors say Ai and Brody gave prescribers limited information about patients, instructed them to prescribe stimulants even if members didn’t qualify, and forced clinical sessions with patients to last no more than 30 minutes.
In some cases, prosecutors allege, doctors and nurses were given prescriptions without any video or phone consultation and collected a tidy profit based on the amount of medication they dispensed.
The investigation into Done Global is part of a broader health care fraud crackdown that has resulted in criminal charges against 193 people, including 76 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, federal prosecutors said. Those approximately 200 defendants are accused of participating in fraud schemes with a combined value of $2.75 billion in false claims and $1.6 billion in actual losses.
Federal authorities say they have seized more than $231 million in cash, luxury cars, gold and other assets as part of the probe, which spanned multiple states.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a trafficker in a drug cartel or a corporate executive or a medical professional employed by a health care company, if you profit from the illegal distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a press release. “The Department of Justice will bring to justice criminals who defraud Americans, steal from taxpayer-funded programs, and put people in harm’s way for profit.”
In its statement, Done Global said it agrees with these goals.
“It’s done [Global] is fully compliant with the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Justice in eliminating drug abuse in America,” the company said. “We are committed to operating a platform that sets the highest standards for psychiatric care, and we believe that our approach hybrid allows us to achieve the highest quality and clinical outcomes for our patients.”
If convicted of the charges, the defendants could face years to decades in prison.
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