A San Francisco jury convicted the founder and a former top doctor at telehealth company Done Global of conspiring to distribute Adderall and other stimulants online.
The jury found former CEO Ruthia He, and David Brody, the company's clinical president, guilty on two conspiracy counts—one count related to healthcare fraud—and four counts of distribution of controlled substances.
He was also convicted of one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
He and Brody each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for February.
The two executives were arrested in June 2024. It marks the first federal prosecution of alleged illegal drug distribution by a telehealth company, federal authorities said.
Done marketed itself as a membership-based platform that connects patients seeking treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with qualified clinicians. The U.S. government classifies Adderall as a Schedule 2 controlled substance.
Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General said the case represents "one of the most egregious abuses of telehealth" the agency has seen.
“These defendants carried out a $100 million scheme to unlawfully provide easy online access to Adderall and other stimulants by targeting drug seekers, engaging in deceptive advertising, and putting profits above patient care,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ's) Criminal Division in a statement. “This verdict sends a clear message that the Criminal Division will hold accountable criminals who attempt to exploit telehealth to write illegal prescriptions for their personal gain. Innovation in health care must never come at the cost of patient safety, professional integrity, or the rule of law.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, He and Brody conspired with others to build a billion-dollar technology company and raise money from investors by providing easy access to over 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants in exchange for payment of a monthly subscription fee. These prescriptions generated more than $100 million in revenue.
Under He's leadership, Done spent more than $40 million on deceptive advertisements on social media networks, according to the DOJ. Defendants also paid for targeted keyword search advertisements for drug seekers who wanted to obtain Adderall without a legal prescription.
Federal authorities presented evidence at trial that showed He and Brody sought to place “hard limits” on clinical discretion by limiting the length of the initial appointment to less than half the length of a typical psychiatric examination and seeking to increase profits by refusing to pay for any follow-up treatment.
"In order to facilitate the illegal prescriptions, He paid nurse practitioners around the country up to $60,000 per month to refill prescriptions without clinical interaction, and enabled an 'auto-refill' technology feature where patients could receive prescriptions without clinical interaction for years based on an auto-generated email sent each month requesting additional prescriptions," the DOJ wrote in a press release.
Federal authorities also presented evidence that He, Brody and others submitted false and fraudulent prior authorization requests to insurers, which claimed that Done followed the DSM-5 in diagnosing ADHD, utilized urine drug screens and falsely claimed that non-stimulants had previously been tried without success. As a result, Medicare, Medicaid and the commercial insurers paid in excess of approximately $14 million.
Valery Nechay, a lawyer for Brody, said her client may appeal, according to Reuters. "Dr. Brody dedicated his life to caring for his patients and expanding access for treatment of ADHD," Nechay said in an email to the publication. "He did not intend to do anything unlawful and unfortunately became a scapegoat."
The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2022 that Drug Enforcement Administration agents were investigating Done’s practices for prescribing controlled substances. The investigation was sparked by WSJ articles describing how some Done clinicians felt pressured to prescribe stimulants like Adderall. One patient died following a Done prescription, the WSJ reported.