Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor and four other executives were convicted May 2 of a racketeering conspiracy that boosted sales of a highly addictive opioid, helping drive the opioid crisis in the U.S., according to Reuters.
With the guilty verdict, Mr. Kapoor becomes the first pharmaceutical CEO convicted in a case tied to the opioid epidemic. Mr. Kapoor was arrested the day President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency.
Prosecutors said that Mr. Kapoor and four other executives conspired to bribe physicians with speaker fees to promote and prescribe its under-the-tongue fentanyl spray Subsys. In addition, prosecutors said Insys duped insurers into covering its Subsys prescriptions.
The jury verdict against Kapoor came on the 15th day of deliberations. The trial lasted 10 weeks.
This marks a steep downfall for Mr. Kapoor, who worked his way up to start a company that turned into a multibillion dollar drugmaker.
The other Insys execs convicted were Insys' former vice president Michael Gurry, ex-national sales director Richard Simon and former regional sales directors Joseph Rowan and Sunrise Lee.
Read more about the trial here.
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