J&J Accused of Fraud - Risperdal

A former Johnson & Johnson sales manager accused the health care giant of concocting various schemes to defraud federal and state Medicaid programs in a lawsuit that was filed in 2005, but only recently unsealed amid a transfer of the litigation from a federal court in Pennsylvania to another in Massachusetts.

The lawsuit was filed by Scott Bartz, a New Jersey resident who worked as a sales compensation manager from 1999 until 2007, when he alleges he was terminated in retaliation for repeatedly complaining about illegal marketing practices. His lawsuit also names the Omnicare nursing home operator and McKesson, the pharmaceutical wholesaler.

In his Complaint, Bartz charged J&J manipulated sales data; reported false prices to various government health programs, and paid kickbacks, such as rebates, so its Risperdal Consta antipsychotic and Razadyne Alzheimer’s treatment would be more widely prescribed. He also alleged J&J practiced channel stuffing, an accounting gimmick used to boost sales to distributors at year’s end.

The lawsuit, which is one of many filed in federal court in Boston that accuse J&J of such practices, has been amended twice, but the latest version remains under seal. The feds, however, have not intervened, or joined, his lawsuit. For his trouble, Bartz suffered a heart attack at age 44, despite being in good health, due to the stress associated with filing on-the-job complaints and was unable to find work, prompting his lawyers to help arrange for loans, according to court documents.

Last November, J&J disclosed talks were being held with the feds about settling charges of illegal marketing of its Risperdal antipsychotic after denying claims contained in a separate lawsuit that made claims similar to those alleged by Bartz. The lawsuit was disclosed by Omnicare in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and first reported by Dow Jones.

SHELLER P.C. represents many people who have been injured by the drug Risperdal and its related version, Invega.