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Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
__________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Former CEO Of Medical Device Company Indicted For Creating And Selling A Fake
Medical Component That Was Implanted Into Patients
Medical Device Company Admitted Wrongdoing and Entered into
Non-Prosecution Agreement Requiring $10 Million Monetary Penalty and
Ongoing Compliance Measures
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District
of New York, Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director in Charge of
the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
("FBI"), and Fernando P. McMillan, the Special Agent in Charge of the
New York Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Office
of Criminal Investigations ("FDA-OIC"), announced today the filing of a
two-count Indictment (the "Indictment") charging Laura PERRYMAN, the
former Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of STIMWAVE LLC, a Florida-based
medical device company, in connection with a scheme to create and sell
a non-functioning dummy medical device for implantation into patients
suffering from chronic pain, resulting in millions of dollars in losses
to federal healthcare programs. PERRYMAN was arrested this morning in
Delray Beach, Florida, and will be presented later today in the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
In addition, Mr. Williams announced the unsealing of a non-prosecution
agreement (the "Agreement") with STIMWAVE LLC ("STIMWAVE"), which filed
for bankruptcy on June 15, 2022. The Agreement was entered into on
October 29, 2022, and was sealed by the United States Bankruptcy Court
for the District of Delaware, pending the Government's ongoing
investigation. Under the terms of the Agreement, STIMWAVE has accepted
responsibility for its conduct by, among other things: (i) making
admissions and stipulating to the accuracy of an extensive Statement of
Facts; (ii) paying a $10,000,000 monetary penalty; and (iii)
maintaining an adequate compliance program, to include employing a
Chief Compliance Officer and holding regular compliance committee
meetings. STIMWAVE is also required to cooperate fully with the
Government. STIMWAVE's obligations under the Agreement will continue
for a period of three years from the date of execution of the
Agreement.
The U.S. Attorney's Office also unsealed a civil fraud lawsuit filed
against STIMWAVE under the False Claims Act ("FCA"), and the parties'
settlement of that suit (the "FCA Settlement"). The settlement has
been submitted to United States District Judge George B. Daniels for
approval. In connection with the FCA Settlement, STIMWAVE admitted and
accepted responsibility for conduct alleged in the Government's civil
complaint and agreed to pay $8,600,000 to the United States. This
payment will be credited towards the $10,000,000 monetary penalty
discussed above. The civil complaint also brings claims against
PERRYMAN under the FCA, which are pending.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: "As alleged, at the direction of
its founder and CEO Laura Perryman, Stimwave created a dummy medical
device component -- made entirely of plastic -- designed to be
implanted in patients for the sole purpose of causing doctors to
unwittingly bill Medicare and private insurance companies more than
$16,000 for each implantation of the piece of plastic. The defendant
and Stimwave did this so that they could charge medical providers many
thousands of dollars for purchasing their medical device. Our Office
will continue to do everything in its power to bring to justice anyone
responsible for perpetuating health care fraud, which in this case led
to patients being used as nothing more than tools for financial
enrichment."
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: "Ms. Perryman, as the
Chief Executive Officer of Stimwave, allegedly led a scheme to sell
medical devices that contained a non-functioning component that doctors
unwittingly implanted into patients suffering from chronic pain. As a
result of her illegal actions, not only did patients undergo
unnecessary implanting procedures, but Medicare was defrauded of
millions of dollars. Today's action demonstrates the FBI's continuing
commitment to protect Medicare and other government programs from
financial fraud and abuse."
FDA-OIC Special Agent in Charge Fernando P. McMillan said: "Individuals
and companies that manufacture and distribute medical devices with
non-functional components put the health of patients at significant
risk. We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who
jeopardize the health of their patients and of the public."
According to the documents unsealed today in Manhattan federal court
and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware:[60][1]
STIMWAVE was a medical device company that manufactured and distributed
implantable neurostimulation devices designed to treat intractable,
chronic pain. Founded in 2010 by PERRYMAN and others, STIMWAVE was
headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida.
STIMWAVE was founded on the premise that its products would provide
non-opioid alternatives to chronic pain management. As the founder and
CEO of STIMWAVE, PERRYMAN oversaw the design of the StimQ PNS System
(the "Device"), a neurostimulator medical device that treated chronic
pain by producing electrical currents to target peripheral nerves
outside the spinal cord. From at least in or about 2017 up to and
including her termination in or about 2019, PERRYMAN, as STIMWAVE's
CEO, engaged in a multi-year scheme (the "Scheme") to design, create,
manufacture, and market an inert, non-functioning component of the
Device -- called the "White Stylet" -- that served no medical purpose
but was included with the Device through in or about 2020 in order to
make the product financially viable for doctors to purchase.
When STIMWAVE originally brought the Device to market in or about 2017,
it contained three primary components: (i) an implantable electrode
array (the "Lead") that stimulated the nerve; (ii) an externally worn
battery that sat outside the body and wirelessly provided power to the
Lead through the patient's skin (the "Battery"); and (iii) a separate
implantable receiver measuring approximately 23 centimeters in length
with a distinctive pink handle -- called the "Pink Stylet." The Pink
Stylet contained copper and, unlike the White Stylet, functioned as a
receiver to transmit energy from the Battery to the Lead.
STIMWAVE sold the Device to doctors and medical providers for over
approximately $16,000. Medical insurance providers, including
Medicare, would reimburse medical practitioners for implanting the
Device into patients through two separate reimbursement codes, one for
implantation of the Lead and a second for implantation of the Pink
Stylet. The billing code for implanting the Lead provided for
reimbursement at a rate of between approximately $4,000 and $6,000,
while the billing code for implanting a receiver, like the Pink Stylet,
provided for reimbursement at a rate of between approximately $16,000
and $18,000.
Soon after the Device was released, physicians informed STIMWAVE that
they were having trouble implanting the Pink Stylet in certain patients
because the Pink Stylet was too long. STIMWAVE and PERRYMAN knew that
the Pink Stylet could not be cut or trimmed to shorten it without
interfering with the functionality of the Pink Stylet as a receiver,
and without a receiver component for doctors to implant and seek
reimbursement for, doctors would incur a substantial financial loss
with every purchase of the Device, thereby making it more difficult for
STIMWAVE to sell the Device to doctors and medical providers at the
approximately $16,000 price.
However, STIMWAVE -- at the direction of PERRYMAN -- did not lower the
price of the Device so that its cost to doctors and medical providers
could be covered by reimbursement for the implantation of only the
Lead, nor did PERRYMAN recommend that doctors not implant the Device or
its receiver component in cases where the Pink Stylet could not fit
comfortably. Instead, PERRYMAN directed that STIMWAVE create the White
Stylet -- a dummy component made entirely of plastic that served no
medical purpose but which STIMWAVE misrepresented to doctors as a
customizable receiver alternative to the Pink Stylet. The White Stylet
could be cut to size by the doctor for use in smaller anatomical spaces
and was created solely so that doctors and medical providers would
continue to purchase the Device for use in those scenarios and continue
to bill for the implantation of a receiver component. To perpetuate
the lie that the White Stylet was functional, PERRYMAN oversaw training
that suggested to doctors that the White Stylet was a "receiver," when,
in fact, it was made entirely of plastic, contained no copper, and
therefore had no conductivity. In addition, PERRYMAN directed other
STIMWAVE employees to vouch for the efficacy of the White Stylet, when
she knew that the White Stylet was actually non-functional.
As a result of these misrepresentations regarding the functionality of
the White Stylet, PERRYMAN caused doctors and medical providers to
unwittingly implant the non-functional White Stylet into patients and
submit fraudulent reimbursement claims for implantation of the White
Stylet to Medicare, resulting in millions of dollars in losses to the
federal government.
On June 15, 2022, STIMWAVE filed for bankruptcy in Delaware under
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, through which it sold substantially
all of its assets to a third-party through an auction.
* * *
PERRYMAN, 54, of Delray Beach, Florida, has been charged with one count
of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud, which carries
a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of
health care fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 10
years in prison.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are
provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the
defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the FBI and thanked the
FDA for its assistance.
The criminal case is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime
Unit of the Office's Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis
A. Pellegrino, Jacob M. Bergman, and Mónica P. Folch are in charge of
the prosecution. The civil case against STIMWAVE and PERRYMAN is being
handled by the Civil Frauds Unit of the Office's Civil Division.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob M. Bergman and Mónica P. Folch are in
charge of the civil case.
The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
_______________________
[61][1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text
of the Indictment constitutes only allegations, and every fact
described herein should be treated as an allegation.
Attachment(s):
[62]Download U.S._v._Perryman_Indictment.pdf
[63]Download Stimwave_Non-Prosecution_Agreement.pdf
[64]Download Stimwave_Complaint.pdf
[65]Download Stimwave_Settlement.pdf
Topic(s):
Health Care Fraud
Component(s):
[66]USAO - New York, Southern
Contact:
Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600
Press Release Number:
23-094
Updated March 9, 2023
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