A drug company sales rep from Aurora and his boss, along with a Hudson neurologist and a Gates Mills neurosurgeon, are accused of being part of a kickback conspiracy involving Nuedexta, a drug used to treat uncontrollable laughing and crying.



The 83-count indictment charges Dr. Deepak Raheja, 63, of Hudson; Gregory Hayslette, 43, of Aurora; Frank Mazzucco, 41, of Dublin; and Dr. Bhupinder Sawhny, 70, of Gates Mills, with conspiracy to solicit, receive, offer and pay health-care kickbacks.



Raheja specializes in psychiatry and neurology with his primary office in Cleveland. Sawhny specializes in neurosurgery and has a practice in Parma.



Hayslette was a pharmaceutical sales representative responsible for marketing Nuedexta in northern Ohio in 2015-16. Mazzucco was the regional business manager for for Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. and supervised Hayslette.



Avanir manufactured Nuedexta, a drug approved by the FDA solely to treat pseudobulbar affect (PBA). PBA is a condition characterized by involuntary, sudden and frequent episodes of uncontrollable laughing and crying.



As part of the conspiracy, the indictment said Hayslette and Mazzucco incentivized physicians to write unnecessary Nuedexta prescriptions. The incentives included arranging speaker’s bureau programs with little to no educational value for Raheja, Sawhny and other medical professionals relating to Nuedexta.



Federal investigators said Raheja gave more than 200 presentations as part of the speakers bureau at restaurants and doctor’s offices from 2011 to 2016, receiving about $1,500 for each presentation for a total of more than $330,000. During this time, Raheja also wrote approximately 10,088 Nuedexta prescriptions — the highest in the country, the indictment said.



Federal investigators said Hayslette also promoted non-FDA-approved uses and dosages of Nuedexta through the speaker’s bureau program and the distribution of literature to physicians.



As part of the conspiracy, the indictment said Hayslette offered free firearms training, office equipment and other things of value to Sawhny. He also provided coffee, breakfast, lunch and other food and beverage to Raheja, Sawhny and their office staff, usually with little to no substantive discussion about Nuedexta.



Federal investigators said Raheja and Sawhny wrote Nuedexta prescriptions and billed to Medicare and Medicaid for patients that did not have PBA. Investigators said Raheja also wrote fraudulent diagnoses and falsified symptoms of PBA in patient records. Sawhny also allegedly permitted unauthorized access to protected patient health information.



Hayslette also accessed patient health information without authorization, and facilitated the submission of false diagnoses of PBA, investigators said.



"We all trust our doctors to make decisions based on what is best for the patient, not based on which sales representative is paying them money on the side and springing for steak dinners," U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said in a press release. "Doctors and the pharmaceutical sales reps who don’t follow the rules will be held accountable for their actions."



Federal officials encourage anyone who feels they may have been a victim in this case to call the FBI at 216-622-6963.