Doctor Gets 4 Years in Prison for Insys Opioid Kickbacks

Re:Doctor Gets 4 Years in Prison for Insys Opioid Kickbacks by CamperBob2 on Sunday March 11, 2018 @07:26PM (#16565284)

Honestly, if you could make $10M as a mid-level distributor, squirrel most of it away tax-free, with the downside risk being only four years in the pen, that would be a massive rational win for most people.

Of course, the only reason you can make millions of dollars illegally at this racket is because it's illegal in the first place, so never mind. Drug laws cause far more harm to society than the drugs themselves ever could. Any argument to the contrary can trivially be resolved to a special-pleading fallacy.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Doctor Gets 4 Years in Prison for Insys Opioid Kickbacks by csallen on Sunday March 11, 2018 @08:05PM (#16565408)

For reference, the doctor in the story "pleaded guilty to taking more than $188,000 in kickbacks disguised as speaker fees." As a result, he "lost his medical license and was ousted from his post as a Brown University professor, … the judge sentenced him to 51 months and ordered restitution of $754,000," and I'm sure he's gotten a heap of public shame and humiliation.

Is it possible he has enough cash hidden away to make this all worthwhile? Yes, but I'd bet against it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Doctor Gets 4 Years in Prison for Insys Opioid Kickbacks by maxerickson on Sunday March 11, 2018 @08:02PM (#16565403)

There's a famous paper about drug gang economics:

http://pricetheory.uchicago.edu/levitt/Papers/LevittVenkates...

It suggests that $10 million of profit would be quite the success.

[ Parent | on HN ]