The founder and CEO of a California-based telehealth company was arrested and charged Thursday for her involvement in an alleged scheme to distribute Adderall over the Internet and commit healthcare fraud.
Ruthia He, founder and CEO of Done Global Inc., allegedly conspired with the company’s clinical president, David Brody, and others to provide easy access to stimulants, including Adderall, a medication used to treat ADHD, in exchange for payment of a monthly payment. subscription fee, the Justice Department said in a Press release.
He was arrested in Los Angeles and Brody in San Rafael, California, on charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances. If convicted, they each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. It’s unclear whether he and Brody have secured attorneys who can speak on his behalf.
He and Brody ran the “illegal enrichment” scheme and made more than $100 million by increasing monthly subscription revenue, which therefore increased the company’s value, federal authorities said.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri accused He and Brody of exploiting telemedicine “and spending millions on misleading social media ads.”
“They generated more than $100 million in revenue by providing prescriptions for more than 40 million pills,” Argentieri said in a statement. “These charges are the Department of Justice’s first drug distribution criminal prosecutions related to telemedicine prescribing through a digital health company. As these charges make clear, corporate executives who profit from the health and safety of patients – including through the use of technological innovation – will be held to account.”
The pair allegedly obtained subscribers by spending millions on what authorities called deceptive social media ads, targeting drug seekers and intentionally structuring the Done platform to facilitate access to Adderall and other stimulants, the press release alleges.
Part of the scheme allegedly included limiting the information available to Done prescribers and instructing them to prescribe Adderall and other stimulants even if the Done member did not qualify.
It tried to maximize profits by adding an “auto-refill” function that allowed subscribers to opt-in to receive a message requesting a refill of the medication every month, the Justice Department said.
He and Brody are also accused of conspiring to defraud pharmacies as well as Medicare and Medicaid.
The Justice Department said He and Brody allegedly continued the scheme even after they were told that Done members overdosed and died and that there was material posted online about how people could obtain Adderall and other stimulants from the company.
Done, which claims to make high-quality chronic psychiatric care more affordable and accessible, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. He and Brody could not be reached at the phone numbers listed for them.
In 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that some doctors said they felt the company was pressuring them to prescribe stimulants. That same year, the Drug Enforcement Administration opened an investigation into Done’s practice of prescribing controlled substances, the WSJ reported.
The DEA lists Adderall as a schedule II medication with high potential for abuse. It is included in the same category as Vicodin, OxyContin and methamphetamine.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
