Two executives from San Francisco-based telehealth provider Done Global have been sentenced to years in prison for a $90m pill-mill scheme involving amphetamine/dextroamphetamine salts (Adderall), reports KQED News.
The Department of Justice said founder Ruthia He had used her company’s technology platform, compensation structure, and clinical protocols to unlawfully distribute more than 37m Adderall pills, defraud insurers of more than $12m, and obstruct the federal investigation that followed.
She had spent more than $40m on social media advertisements to deceive Americans into believing they had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), falsely diagnosing patients with ADHD, and distributing the pills, including to patients who the company was warned were suffering from Adderall psychosis, bipolar, depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions that were worsened by stimulant prescriptions.
He and David Brody, the company’s clinical president, were convicted of conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and distributing controlled substances to people without a medical need and conspiring to defraud pharmacies, along with Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurers, to dispense stimulants.
He was handed a six-year sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, though the judge said she was likely to be deported after her release.
He, who had arrived in the United States from China 14 years ago, told the court that she had “wanted to contribute and make a positive impact”.
Brody (70), who was given a shorter two-year sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, said he planned to appeal.
Both will be fined $1m, in addition to restitution to the families of victims.
The pair spearheaded the online mental health treatment venture to provide easy access to Adderall, Vyvanse and other stimulants. The Department of Justice alleged that they took advantage of eased restrictions on prescribing controlled substances without in-person consultations amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the company had arranged for the prescription of more than 40m pills, according to court documents.
The start-up promoted a quick and easy process to become a monthly subscriber: members completed a one-minute assessment, followed by a telehealth appointment with a licensed clinician before paying the $79 monthly fee for “worry-free refills” and ongoing care.
In 2022, major pharmacies stopped filling prescriptions from prescribers at Done, and another online mental health company, Cerebral – which also came under federal investigation – after reports that some healthcare professionals felt pressured into diagnoses.
In 2024, Cerebral agreed to pay more than $3.6m “for engaging in practices that encouraged the unauthorised distribution of controlled substances” as part of a non-prosecution agreement with the US Attorney’s Office in New York.
Done faced similar scrutiny, and according to court documents, paid medical professionals to diagnose members with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and write them prescriptions for Adderall and other stimulants, even when people did not qualify for the medications.
The DOJ also claimed that the company continued to operate even after He and Brody became aware that information had been posted on social media instructing people to use Done to gain easy access to stimulants – and that some members had overdosed and died.
In February 2023, agents intercepted He on her way to the airport, bound for a flight to Hong Kong. She surrendered her passport and was warned that leaving the country would result in arrest. Four months later, however, she secretly obtained a Chinese travel document that would allow her to travel to China – a fact she concealed from the court and law enforcement after her arrest and that ultimately led to her pretrial detention due to her risk of flight.
He also set up a shell company – MakeBelieve Asia – and transferred millions of dollars to China.
In November last year, she and Brody were both convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, four counts of distribution of controlled substances, and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. He was also convicted of one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
KQED article – San Francisco CEO Gets 6 Years for Scheme to Sell Adderall Online (Open access)
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