Florida doctor accepted $160,000 in bribes to prescribe unnecessary fentanyl, feds say

A Florida pain management doctor will pay $1.5 million to settle the U.S. governments lawsuit filed against him accusing him of accepting thousands of dollars to unnecessarily prescribe a fentanyl product to patients, federal prosecutors said.

[–>

In exchange for $159,580 in bribes, Dr. Edward Lubin prescribed a companys fentanyl spray to dozens of people without valid medical reasons from 2014 to 2016, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida.

[–>

Insys Therapeutics, Inc. paid Lubin to issue prescriptions for Subsys, its product meant to treat breakthrough cancer pain, the attorneys office said in September 2021, when the lawsuit was filed.

[–>

Of the 61 patients Lubin prescribed the fentanyl spray to, 52 didnt have cancer, according to prosecutors.

[–>

Fentanyl, a synthetic prescription opioid used to treat severe pain, is estimated to be approximately 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

[–>

At least 15 doctors, seven former Insys executives and seven former Insys sales representatives have been criminally convicted in connection with the companys scheme to defraud patients and medical insurers such as Medicare, the attorneys office said in an Oct. 27 news release.

[–>

Lubin agreed to the $1.5 million settlement to resolve the case and the governments accusations that he violated the False Claims Act, the attorneys office announced in the release. Hes accused of violating the law by causing more than 400 false claims for Subsys to be submitted to Medicare and TRICARE.

[–>

The Tampa-based doctors settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by (him) nor a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded, the court filing says.

[–>

McClatchy News contacted Lubins defense attorneys for comment on Oct. 30 and didnt receive an immediate response.

[–>

The United States will not be thwarted in its efforts to hold doctors like Dr. Lubin accountable for issuing medically unnecessary prescriptions tainted by kickbacks, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg said in a statement.

[–>

Lubins involvement in Insys sham speaker program

[–>

Lubin is accused of taking bribes from Insys while practicing at the Gessler Clinic Professional Association in Winter Haven, about 50 miles east of Tampa, according to the settlement agreement.

[–>

In 2019, the Insys company was prosecuted in Massachusetts federal court and pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud in connection with its sham speaker program Lubin took part in, prosecutors said.

[–>

Insys disguised the bribes it paid to Lubin and other doctors as compensation for speaking at sham events, according to prosecutors.

[–>

These events lasted a few minutes, never occurred, or had repeat attendees despite the lack of any reason to present the same information multiple times to the same individuals, prosecutors said.

[–>

When Lubin caused more than 400 false claims for Insys fentanyl spray to be submitted to Medicare and TRICARE, the companies paid more than $4 million for the fraudulent claims, according to prosecutors.

[–>

Insys scheme inspires a Netflix movie

[–>

In 2018, Evan Hughes, while writing for The New York Times Magazine, helped expose how Insys paid millions to doctors as part of its widespread sham speaker program in a piece titled The Pain Hustlers.

[–>

Hughes also wrote a book about the case: The Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup.

[–>

His article inspired the new Netflix film Pain Hustlers starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

[–>

The film is directed by David Yates, Tudum by Netflix reports.

[–>

I was intrigued by the pharma world, particularly the low-rent end of it, the workaday reps and sales teams striving to make a living in a hugely competitive business of dealing with peoples pain, Yates told the outlet.

[–>

In regards to Lubin, on Oct. 27, his attorneys filed the lawsuit settlement agreement in bankruptcy court, which has the final approval over it, prosecutors said.

[–>[–>[–>

Julia Marnin is a McClatchy National Real-Time reporter covering the Southeast and Northeast while based in New York. She is a College of New Jersey alumna and joined McClatchy in 2021. Previously, she wrote for Newsweek, Modern Luxury, Gannett and more.