PHOENIX – Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today that his office (AGO) obtained consent judgments with Dr. Nikesh Seth, a Scottsdale-based pain management doctor, and Dr. Sheldon Gingerich, a Tucson-based pain management doctor. The settlements require the two doctors to pay a combined sum of over $500,000 to resolve the AGO’s claims that the doctors took hundreds of thousands of dollars in sham educational “speaker fees” from Chandler-based Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing Subsys, a highly addictive opioid prescription drug that contains fentanyl.
“People put a sacred trust in their doctors, especially when they’re prescribing opioids,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “We will hold accountable everyone who violated that trust and improperly profited from Arizona’s opioid crisis."
Under the settlements, Dr. Seth and Dr. Gingerich each must forfeit all of the money they collected from Insys for alleged sham “speaker fees,” and make an additional payment to the State. Dr. Seth must forfeit over $229,000, and pay an additional $145,000 to Arizona. Dr. Gingerich must forfeit over $80,000, and pay over $50,000 to the State. In addition, Dr. Seth is barred from receiving any money or substantial gifts from any prescription drug makers, sellers, or promoters for the next ten years. Dr. Gingerich is barred permanently from prescribing controlled substances, taking money from pharmaceutical companies, or keeping compensation received for practicing medicine.
The settlements are the latest development in the multi-defendant lawsuits filed by Attorney General Brnovich over Insys’s illegal and unethical opioid sales practices. Previous settlements included a $9.5 million settlement with Insys’s former Vice President of Sales and a $2 million settlement with the former CEO of Insys. Insys itself pleaded guilty to federal charges, declared bankruptcy, and ceases to exist. The AGO’s lawsuit continues against one other Arizona doctor and John Kapoor, the founder and former President of Insys.
Senior Litigation Counsel Mitchell Allee, Laura Dilweg, and Jennifer Bonham, Assistant Attorney General Sam Fox, and Unit Chief Matthew du Mee are handling the case for the State.
Copy of the approved Consent Judgment with Dr. Seth.
Copy of the approved Consent Judgment with Dr. Gingerich.
If you believe you have been the victim of consumer fraud, you can file a consumer complaint by visiting the Attorney General’s website. If you need a complaint form sent to you, contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.