Telehealth Executives Accused Of $100m Adderall Fraudulent (representational image@Pixabay)

US investigator arrested CEO and founder of Done Global, a San Francisco-based start-up. She was accused of running a $100m scheme to fraudulently distribute over 40m pills of Adderall and other controlled substances. The company became popular during the pandemic as an online way to obtain Adderall by paying a monthly subscription fee.

US attorney, General Merrick, said that the telehealth company’s CEO, Ruthia He, conspired with the company’s clinical president, David Brody, “to provide easy access to Adderall and other stimulants for no legitimate medical purpose”. Wile was arrested in Los Angeles, Brody was arrested in California’s San Rafael, as reported by media.

Washington’s top law officer said that He and Brody had exploited telemedicine rules that were loosened during the Covid pandemic. They are charged with distribution of controlled substances, which could land them in 20 years of imprisonment if found guilty.

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Adderall is a medication that helps manage symptoms of ADHD – which can include an inability to focus on a single task. The incident came amid a national shortage of the medicine.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri accused the pair of “spending millions on deceptive advertisements on social media”. “These charges are the Justice Department’s first criminal drug distribution prosecutions related to telemedicine prescribing through a digital health company”, said Argentieri in a statement.

Reportedly, part of the said scheme also included increasing the subscription fee, thus increasing the value of the company to “unlawfully enrich themselves”. The report said that the defendants also allegedly limited information available to prescribers, and instructed them to prescribe medications to patients even when they did not medically qualify.

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Allegedly, the continued the illegal scheme even after being made aware of how Done have posted online on how to use Adderall and other stimulants, “and that Done members had overdosed and died”.

He and Brody are also accused of defrauding government healthcare assistance programmes Medicare and Medicaid, as well as pharmacies, and of conspiring to obstruct justice by deleting documents and emails.