| John Kapoor, the billionaire founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc., leaves the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts |
Kapoor, 76, was found guilty of running a wide-ranging scheme to bribe doctors nationwide by retaining them to act as speakers at sham events at restaurants ostensibly meant to educate clinicians about its fentanyl spray, Subsys.
Prosecutors said Kapoor also directed efforts to defraud insurers who were reluctant to pay for Subsys. His co-defendants were former Insys executives and managers Michael Gurry, Richard Simon, Sunrise Lee and Joseph Rowan.
They face up to 20 years in prison. They denied wrongdoing, and defense lawyers signaled plans to appeal.
“Dr Kapoor is disappointed in the verdict, as are we,” Beth Wilkinson, Kapoor’s lead attorney, said in a statement. “Four weeks of jury deliberations confirm that this was far from an open-and-shut case.”