On July 19, 2012, the Department of Justice announced that Michael Cobb, a Rhode Island physician’s assistant, was sentenced to one year incarceration after pleading guilty to receiving kickbacks from Orthofix, Inc.
From 2004 to 2011, Orthofix paid Cobb approximately $120,000 for arranging the implantation of Orthofix bone growth stimulators.
The sentence is the result of a broader investigation into Orthofix’s marketing activities that has led to a series of guilty pleas.
From December of 2011 to May of 2012, two Territory Managers for Orthofix pled guilty to health care fraud, a Regional Manager for Orthofix pled guilty to perjury, and a Vice President of Orthofix pled guilty to paying kickbacks.
According to the Department of Justice, the investigation remains ongoing.
Read the Department of Justice press release.
This post is prepared by Fulbright senior associate Peter Leininger (pleininger@fubright.com / +1 202 662 0278) in Fulbright’s health care practice.