A founder and CEO of a California-based telehealth company was arrested and charged with involvement in a scheme to distribute Adderall online and commit healthcare fraud.
The Justice Department alleged in a news release that Ruthia He, the founder, and CEO of Done Global Inc., conspired with David Brody, the company’s clinical president, and others to provide easy access to stimulants – including Adderall, which is a drug used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder – in exchange for a monthly subscription free.
Ruthie He was arrested in Los Angeles, and David Brody in San Rafael, California, on charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances. If they are convinced, they will each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. It is unclear whether He and Brody have obtained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.
Federal officials said he and Brody ran the scheme to “unlawfully enrich themselves” and made over $100 million by increasing monthly subscription revenue, thereby increasing the company’s value.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri accused both He and Brody of exploiting telemedicine and “spending millions on deceptive advertisements on social media.”
“They generated over $100 million in revenue by arranging for the prescription of over 40 million pills,” Argentieri said in a statement. “These charges are the Justice Department’s first criminal drug distribution prosecutions related to telemedicine prescribing through a digital health company. As these charges make clear, corporate executives who put profit over the health and safety of patients — including by using technological innovation — will be held to account.”
The pair obtained subscribers by spending millions of dollars on what officials called “deceptive social media advertisements,” in which they targeted drug seekers and intentionally structured the Done platform to facilitate access to Adderall and other stimulants, the news release alleges.
It claims that part of the scheme included limiting the information available to Done prescribers and instructing them to prescribe Adderall and other stimulants even if Done members did not qualify.
The Justice Department said he tried to maximize profits by adding “auto-refill” functions that allowed subscribers to elect to receive messages requesting refills of the drug every month.
He and Brody are accused of conspiring to defraud pharmacies, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The Justice Department alleged that He and Brody had continued with the scheme even after they were made aware that some Done members had overdosed and died and that material was posted online about how individuals could obtain Adderall and other stimulants from the company.
Done, which says it makes highly-quality psychiatric chronic care more affordable and accessible, said it “strongly disagrees with the charges” filed against He and Brody.
In an emailed statement, the company said, “Done Global will continue to operate — and do everything in our power to ensure that tens of thousands of Americans that rely on us do not lose access to their mental health care.” They added, “At the same time, we will continue to support our clinicians as they exercise independent clinical judgment, practice evidence-based medicine, and provide best-in-class health care.”
He and Brody could not be reached at the phone numbers listed for them.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2022 that some clinicians have said they felt the company was pressuring them to prescribe stimulants. The Drug Enforcement Administration opened an investigation that year, wherein they looked into Done’s practices of prescribing controlled substances, the Journal reported.
The DEA lists Adderall as a Schedule II drug, which has a high potential for abuse. It is in the same category as Vicodin, OxyContin, and methamphetamine.
