Telehealth CEO charged in alleged $100 million scheme to provide “easy access” to Adderall, other stimulants

Federal prosecutors have charged the CEO and chief physician of Done Global – a telehealth company that distributes stimulant medications to thousands of patients across the United States – of fraud in an alleged $100 million scheme to provide “easy access” to Adderall and other stimulants.

Ruthia He, founder of Done Global, was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday on allegations that she participated in the distribution of Adderall over the Internet, submitted false and fraudulent claims for refunds and obstructed justice, the Justice Department said in a statement. Press release. David Brody, the company’s clinical president, was arrested in San Rafael, California, on the same charges.

“They generated more than $100 million in revenue by providing prescriptions for more than 40 million pills,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said in the statement, adding that these were the Department of Justice’s “first criminal prosecutions of drug distribution related to telemedicine prescriptions through a digital health company.”

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that prescription drugs often had “no legitimate medical purpose.”

Court documents allege that he and Brody prescribed Adderall and other highly addictive medications to patients who purchased a monthly subscription through the company’s platform. They are accused of targeting those seeking drugs with “misleading advertisements.” They are also accused of structuring the company’s platform “to facilitate access to Adderall and other stimulants, including by limiting the information available to Done prescribers, instructing Done prescribers to prescribe Adderall and other stimulants even if the Done member does not qualify , and requiring that initial meetings last less than 30 minutes.”

“The indictment alleges that the objective of the conspiracy was for the defendants to illegally enrich themselves by, among other things, increasing monthly subscription revenue and thereby increasing the value of the company,” the Justice Department said.

Done Global is accused of prescribing ADHD medications when they were not medically necessary to several patients, the statement said. After patients purchased the monthly subscription, court documents allege, the platform set up an “auto-refill” function that allowed subscribers to opt-in to have a message requesting a refill automatically generated every month.

Court documents allege that Done sought to “use the compensation structure to discourage follow-up” medical care by refusing to “pay Done’s prescribers for any physician visits, telemedicine consultations, or time spent caring for patients after an initial consultation and , instead paying solely based on the number of patients who received prescriptions.”

Court documents alleged that even after He and Brody were told how easy it was to access the stimulants and that “members overdosed and died,” the company continued to persist in its methods. The executives also conspired to defraud pharmacies, Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers, court documents allege.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert Thursday afternoon warning public health officials, doctors, patients, their families and caregivers about possible disruption resulting from the accusation. “An outage involving this large telehealth company could impact between 30,000 and 50,000 patients ages 18 and older across all 50 U.S. states,” the alert said.

Done was released two years ago, according to the company’s websiteas a “passion project to help friends, coworkers, and loved ones who struggle to access mental health care.”

Members pay a monthly fee of $79 to access the platform’s board-certified psychiatric medical professionals and other resources that help patients with ADHD, the website says. It costs $199 to start a company membership.

Done Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News. The website is still working and the company has not clarified whether it will continue to operate. The Department of Justice urged patients or medical professionals involved in the alleged illegal activity to report the conduct to the DEA hotline.

He and Brody each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.