Both men were convicted of multiple substantive counts of
receiving and paying bribes. Tondre was also found guilty of two counts of
identity fraud. On December 5, 2022, Chun was sentenced to spend three years
and six months in prison.
During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that showed
that Tondre was a sales representative for Insys Therapeutics, the company that
produced and sold Subsys, a drug that is designed to quickly enter the
bloodstream and relieve pain in certain cancer patients.
As a Subsys sales representative, Tondre was assigned to
sell the drug to Chun's medical practice in Florida. He was also responsible
for holding various events that were designed to promote the drug. Insys would
pay Chun thousands of dollars for each speaker event, which was usually held in
a fake and misleading manner.
Tondre organized and hosted various events that were designed
to promote the drug, such as seminars that were held for Chun's family and
friends. These events were held in a fake and misleading manner. Tondre would
also forge the signatures of other physicians who did not attend the events.
Over the course of two and a half years, Tondre was able to
earn over $730,000 in sales commissions and salary. Insys also paid hundreds of
thousands of dollars in bribes and illegal kickbacks to Chun through the
company's fake speaker programs. Medicare Part D paid about $4.5 million for
the prescriptions that Chun wrote for Subsys.
The FBI's Tampa Division Special Agent David Walker said
that the actions of the corrupt medical professional caused financial pain to
the patients. He noted that the agency and its partners work to protect the
nation's healthcare system from the effects of greed and deception.
According to Aybar, the defendants would disregard the
proper care provided to patients in order to make money from their scheme. He
noted that the individuals would also ignore the opportunities to promote the
use of legitimate pain management products. This is why it is important that
the agencies and their partners work together to identify and punish those who
abuse their position of trust.
The sentence handed down to Tondre demonstrates the
agencies' efforts to hold accountable those who abuse their position of trust.
For instance, the Defense Department's inspector general praised the work of
the FBI and its partners in identifying and punishing those who commit fraud.
The inspector general of the Defense Department also praised
the work of the agency's partners in identifying and punishing those who commit
fraud. He noted that the government's efforts to combat fraud and corruption
are vital to the healthcare system's success.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Office of the
Inspector General, and the Department of Health & Human Services. It was
also handled by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida's
Opioid Fraud and Detection Unit. This division focuses on the abuse and fraud
of prescription opioids by healthcare professionals. Jennifer Peresie and
Kelley Howard-Allen, who were the prosecutors, handled the case.
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