Orthofix/Blackstone kickback case
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Arkansas surgeon Patrick Chan pleads guilty Jan. 3 to receiving illegal kickbacks from orthopedic device-makers Synthes and Blackstone Medical, which was acquired by Orthofix in 2006 (1"The Gray Sheet" Aug. 6, 2007, In Brief). Chan has also entered into a $1.5 million civil settlement with the U.S. government, the State of Arkansas and the "whistle-blower," an orthopedic device salesman who brought the case, in which Blackstone and Synthes are co-defendants, to the government's attention in 2006. Because Chan is expected to leave the country once sentenced, the prosecuting attorney filed a petition with the court Jan. 7 to first subpoena and depose him, since "Chan still has critical evidence on his remaining co-defendants' scheme to induce Chan and other surgeons to use the defendants' surgical products by paying them kickbacks under the guise of consulting agreements and similar arrangements.