AKRON, Ohio — A Hudson doctor and a central Ohio pharmaceutical representative have pleaded guilty to their roles in a prescription drug kickback conspiracy, a news release from United States Attorney for Ohio's Northern District said.
Neurologist Deepak Raheja, 66, and former Avanir Pharmaceuticals sales rep Frank Mazzucco, 44, of Dublin, Ohio, pleaded guilty on Monday, Oct. 31, the day their trial was set to being in Akron federal court.
Raheja wrote prescriptions for Nuedexta, a drug approved by the FDA solely to treat pseudobulbar (PBA). PBA is a condition characterized by involuntary, sudden and frequent episodes of uncontrollable laughing and crying.
Only, he wasn't prescribing it to patients who needed it; he wrote out the scripts to patients who did not have the condition in exchange for money and other items of value, the release said.
The crimes occurred between February 2011 and July 2016.
"Raheja, Mazzucco and other codefendants conspired together to increase the number of prescriptions Raheja and other coconspirators wrote for Nuedexta in exchange for the payment of monetary kickbacks and other items of value," the news release said.
Court documents state Raheja received approximately $331,550 in payments from Avanir for speaking about Nuedexta at dinners and other events. Additionally, Raheja wrote approximately 10,088 Nuedexta prescriptions – the highest in the country.
Raheja and Mazzucco both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit, receive, offer and pay health care kickbacks before U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi.
As part of the plea agreement, Raheja has agreed to serve 30 months in prison, surrender his medical license, and pay $1,178,460.40 million in restitution.
Raheja will be sentenced on Feb. 3, 2023, and Mazzucco is set to be sentenced on Feb. 15, 2023 in Akron federal court.
Editor's Note: The following video is from a previous, unrelated report.
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