Mr. Copeland paid physicians who treated Tricare beneficiaries bribes and kickbacks in exchange for prescription referrals. He sometimes took them on hunting trips and “expensive dinners” as well, according to the Justice Department.
Mr. Copeland and his sales representatives received millions of dollars in kickbacks from the prescriptions, incentivizing them to seek prescriptions for the most expensive compounded drugs. Mr. Copeland set up companies to receive and funnel around $54 million in payments from 2012 to 2015.
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