Indian billionaire faces 20-year prison term

 

PHOENIX, AZ — John Kapoor, an Indian American billionaire entrepreneur who founded the pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics, has been arrested on racketeering charges.

Kapoor, 74, of Phoenix, Ariz., was charged with leading a nationwide conspiracy to profit by using bribes and fraud to cause the illegal distribution of a Fentanyl spray intended for cancer patients experiencing breakthrough pain, the attorney’s office said in a news release.

The US Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts in a news said on October 26 that the entrepreneur, who currently serves as a board member at Insys, was charged with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Law.

Six other former Insys executives and managers had allegations levied against them, all of whom were indicted in December last year.

The charges of conspiracy to commit RICO and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud each provide for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the amount of pecuniary gain or loss.

The charges of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Law provide for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine.

Kapoor, who has a $1.8 billion net worth, stepped down from his role as CEO and chairman in January, though he remained on the Board of Directors and still holds a roughly 60 percent stake in the company, which has seen its stock drop 34 percent in the last year, Forbes reported.