The founder and CEO of a California-based digital health company and its clinical president were just arrested in connection with their alleged participation in a scheme to distribute Adderall over the internet, conspire to commit health care fraud in connection with the submission of false and fraudulent claims for reimbursement for Adderall and other stimulants, and obstruct justice.

Ruthia He,also known as Rujia He, the founder and CEO of Done Global Inc., was arrested in Los Angeles and was expected to make her initial appearance in a Los Angeles federal court.

David Brody M.D., the clinical president of Done Health P.C. (collectively, Done), was arrested in San Rafael, California, and will make his initial appearance in San Francisco, California. Brody is a psychiatrist who maintained a DEA registration number and was authorized to prescribe controlled substances in the State of California.

The charges coincide with an ongoing shortage of several stimulant medications commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A disruption “involving this large telehealth company could impact as many as 30,000 to 50,000 patients ages 18 years and older across all 50 U.S. states,” the agency said.

Back in September 2022 The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the inquiries claimed that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents have questioned people about telehealth company Done Global Inc.’s practices for prescribing controlled substances.

According to court documents, He and Brody allegedly conspired with others to provide easy access to Adderall and other stimulants in exchange for payment of a monthly subscription fee. The indictment alleges that the conspiracy’s purpose was for the defendants to unlawfully enrich themselves by, among other things, by increasing monthly subscription revenue and thus increasing the value of the company. Done allegedly arranged for the prescription of over 40 million pills of Adderall and other stimulants, and obtained over $100 million in revenue.

He and Brody allegedly obtained subscribers by targeting drug seekers and spending tens of millions of dollars on deceptive advertisements on social media networks.

They also allegedly intentionally structured the Done platform to facilitate access to Adderall and other stimulants, including by limiting the information available to Done prescribers, instructing Done prescribers to prescribe Adderall and other stimulants even if the Done member did not qualify, and mandating that initial encounters would be under 30 minutes. To maximize profits, He allegedly put in a place an “auto-refill” function that allowed Done subscribers to elect to have a message requesting a refill be auto-generated every month. He wrote that Done sought to “use the comp structure to dis-encourage follow-up” medical care by refusing to pay Done prescribers for any medical visits, telemedicine consultation, or time spent caring for patients after an initial consultation, and instead paying solely based on the number of patients who received prescriptions.

He and Brody allegedly persisted in the conspiracy even after being made aware that material was posted on online social networks about how to use Done to obtain easy access to Adderall and other stimulants, and that Done members had overdosed and died. They also allegedly concealed and disguised the conspiracy by making fraudulent representations to media outlets to forestall government investigations and action and induce third parties to continue doing business with Done.

He, Brody, and others also conspired to defraud pharmacies and Medicare, Medicaid, and the commercial insurers to cause the pharmacies to dispense Adderall and other stimulants to Done members in violation of their corresponding responsibility; Medicare, Medicaid, and the commercial insurers to pay for the cost of these drugs; and Done members to continue to pay subscription fees to Done. He and others allegedly made false and fraudulent representations about Done’s prescription policies and practices to induce the pharmacies to fill Done’s prescriptions. As a result, Medicare, Medicaid, and the commercial insurers paid in excess of approximately $14 million.

The indictment also alleges that He and Brody conspired to obstruct justice after a grand jury subpoena was issued to another telehealth company and in anticipation of a subpoena being issued to Done, including by deleting documents and communications, using encrypted messaging platforms instead of company email, and ultimately failing to produce documents in response to a subpoena issued to Done by a federal grand jury.

If convicted, He and Brody each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances counts.

Any patient of Done or medical professional who has been involved with the allegedly illegal conduct should call to report this conduct to the DEA hotline at 646-466-5159.