U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton announced a settlement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. regarding allegations of kickbacks to healthcare providers. The pharmaceutical company faced a civil fraud lawsuit and agreed to pay $202 million to resolve claims related to their HIV drug sales.
The settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, directs $176,927,889.28 to the United States, with the remainder allocated to various states. Gilead admitted to certain allegations as part of the settlement.
According to Clayton, Gilead "unlawfully sought to increase sales of its HIV drugs, by using its speaker programs to funnel kickbacks to doctors." He emphasized that "companies that illegally drain taxpayer dollars from federal healthcare programs will be held accountable."
Special Agent Naomi Gruchacz from HHS-OIG stated, "This impactful settlement is the result of collaborative work by law enforcement partners, revealing Gilead’s unlawful practice of providing kickbacks to physicians under the guise of its HIV educational speaker programs."
Christopher M. Silvestro of DCIS highlighted the focus on holding accountable those "who value greed over healthcare." FBI Assistant Director Christopher G. Raia reiterated the impact of such schemes on taxpayer-funded healthcare programs.
The suit filed in Manhattan federal court detailed Gilead's tactics. From 2011 to 2017, the company conducted "HIV Speaker Programs" to boost drug sales. These programs included expensive dinner events and high-value travel destinations for healthcare providers, which violated the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Gilead's actions resulted in federal healthcare programs paying significant sums for prescriptions influenced by these kickbacks. The settlement acknowledges Gilead's conduct, including payments to high-prescribing healthcare professionals, as well as the arrangement of luxury events.
The lawsuit and settlement also involved a whistleblower under the False Claims Act. The investigation was supported by the New York Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FBI, HHS-OIG, and DCIS.
The case is managed by the Office’s Civil Frauds Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob M. Bergman, Allison M. Rovner, Rebecca S. Tinio, and Lucas Issacharoff leading the proceedings.
