Scottsdale Doctor Must Pay $374,000 In Opioid Settlement: AG

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Together, two Arizona pain-management doctors are required to pay more than $500,000 in settlements for taking payments from Insys Therapeutics in exchange for prescribing a highly addictive opioid to their patients, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a press release.

Dr. Nikesh Seth, a Scottsdale-based doctor, must forfeit $229,000 he received in what Brnovich called "sham speaker fees" from Chandler-based Insys Therapeutics. Seth must also pay another $145,000 to the state.

“People put a sacred trust in their doctors, especially when they’re prescribing opioids,” Brnovich said in the statement. “We will hold accountable everyone who violated that trust and improperly profited from Arizona’s opioid crisis."

Seth is barred from receiving money or substantial gifts from any company in the prescription drug business for the next decade, Brnovich said.

Dr. Sheldon Gingerich, of Tucson, must forfeit $80,000 in speaker fees, and pay more than $50,000 to Arizona, Brnovich said. Gingerich is permanently prohibited from prescribing controlled substances, receiving payments from pharmaceutical companies, and from keeping compensation for practicing medicine, according to the Attorney General's Office.