The former owner of a Sarasota, Fla.-based pain management clinic was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his role in a $4.5 million fraud scheme involving the fentanyl spray Subsys.
Steven Chun, MD, 59, was sentenced after being found guilty on six counts related to receiving kickbacks, according to a Dec. 7 Justice Department news release. Dr. Chun was found guilty in May along with Insys Therapeutics sales representative Daniel Tondre.
The Justice Department said Insys, through Mr. Tondre, marketed Subsys to Dr. Chun by holding sham speaker events, paying him between $2,400 to $3,000 per event in return for him writing prescriptions for greater quantities and higher doses of the spray than necessary.
Dr. Chun received more than $278,900 in illegal kickbacks and bribes over the course of three years, according to the release. Dr. Chun was ordered to forfeit that money as a part of his sentencing. Medicare Part D paid more than $4.5 million for prescriptions written by the physician.
Mr. Tondre is scheduled for sentencing Dec. 15.