Alexandria, Va.-based orthopedic surgeon Thomas Raley, MD, will pay $3.1 million and has been sentenced to three years in prison for referring drug prescriptions in return for illegal kickback payments, the Justice Department said Nov. 18.
In 2013, Dr. Raley began soliciting pharmacists to pay kickbacks in return for referring expensive compound medications to the pharmacies, according to the Justice Department release. In one arrangement, Dr. Raley was paid 80 percent of the profit from his referrals of expensive compound prescriptions over the course of 18 months, during which time he received around $2.5 million in payments, the Justice Department said.
He also used the proceeds to fund a Mercedes lease and his children's private school tuition.
Dr. Raley, the owner of a medical practice with offices in Virginia and Maryland, specializes in orthopedic surgery, spine surgery and comprehensive pain management services.