In mid-April 2022, two marketers were sentenced in federal court to twelve months of probation and hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution for their role in a kickback scheme. According to United States Attorney Clint Johnson, the marketers orchestrated a scheme in which physicians received kickback payments in exchange for writing and referring expensive compounded drug prescriptions to OK Compounding.
Johnathon Yates Boyd III and Bryan Fred Woodson allegedly formed R&A Marketing Group around 2012. Two other defendants, Christopher Parks and Dr. Gary Lee, controlled and operated OK Compounding, a pharmacy. R&A Marketing Group introduced its recruited physicians to OK Compounding, with the intent to enter into a referral relationship with the pharmacy.
The conspirators provided illegal kickbacks and bribes to the physicians while the physicians in turn wrote expensive patient prescriptions for compounded drugs and referred those prescriptions to OK Compounding. The pharmacies then turned around and submitted those large claims for payment to various federal health care programs.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), physicians involved in the scheme were allegedly given pre-printed prescription pads that listed compounded formula choices. The physicians then checked a box with their preferred selection and then faxed the script directly to OK Compounding, instead of writing a prescription tailored to the individual patient who could then take it to a pharmacy of their choice.
Payments made to physicians were sent through various sham business arrangements. One example provided by the DOJ is physicians would enter into an agreement with a pharmacy to serve as a “medical director” or “consulting physician,” but would not actually provide any services to OK Compounding or any other pharmacies controlled by Parks and/or Lee.
R&A Marketing was paid a commission based on the reimbursed prescriptions in exchange for recruiting physicians to enter into those sham contracts.
Boyd and Woodson admitted to conspiring together with Parks and Lee to enrich themselves through the kickback scheme. Boyd was ordered to pay $391,475.41 in restitution while Woodson was ordered to pay $553,232.45 in restitution. OK Compounding is no longer in operation and charges are still pending against Parks and Lee. All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.