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 The plea by Jerrold Rosenberg came amid ongoing investigations of
Insys related to Subsys, an under-the-tongue spray that contains
fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
Rosenberg, 63, pleaded guilty in federal court in Providence, Rhode
Island, to charges that he committed healthcare fraud and conspired
to receive kickbacks to prescribe Subsys.
Prosecutors said that from 2012 to 2015, Rosenberg schemed to
receive $188,000 in kickbacks in the form of speaker fees from Insys,
which were a major factor in his decision to prescribe Subsys to
patients.
He also fraudulently indicated that his patients suffered from
cancer pain when they did not in order to secure insurance approvals
for Subsys, prosecutors said.
Under a plea agreement, Rosenberg agreed to pay $754,736 in
restitution to healthcare benefit programs. He faces a maximum
prison sentence of 15 years and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan.
16.
Rosenberg's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Chandler, Arizona-based Insys in a statement said it has "taken
necessary and appropriate steps to prevent past mistakes from
happening in the future."
The investigations into Insys have come during a national epidemic
of opioid abuse. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, opioids were involved in more than 33,000 deaths in
2015. The death rate has continued to rise, according to estimates.
In December, federal prosecutors in Boston charged six former Insys
executives and managers, including ex-Chief Executive Michael Babich,
with engaging in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe Subsys and
defraud insurers.
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All six have pleaded not guilty. Federal charges have also been
filed in several other states against other ex-Insys employees and
medical practitioners who prescribed Subsys.
Insys has been in settlement talks with the U.S. Justice Department.
It said on Wednesday it is working "with relevant authorities to
resolve issues related to the misdeeds of former employees."
Insys also faces lawsuits by attorneys general in Arizona and New
Jersey. It previously paid $9.45 million to resolve investigations
by attorneys general in Oregon, New Hampshire, Illinois and
Massachusetts.
The case is U.S. v. Rosenberg, U.S. District Court, District of
Rhode Island, No. 17-cr-00009.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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