Kickback Conspiracy: Former Sales Rep Sentenced

Daniel Tondre, 52, of Tampa, was sentenced by William H. Jung, a US District Judge, to four years in prison for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme. He was ordered to forfeit $483,000 and pay a $25,000 fine. A federal jury on May 24, 2022, found Tondre and Dr. Chun, 59, of Florida, guilty of paying bribes and kickbacks in exchange for the prescribing of Subsys, a drug that contains fentanyl.

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.