North Carolina AG Jeff Jackson Secures $202 Million from Gilead Sciences in Kickback Settlement
RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson today announced a significant victory for patient care and ethical medical practices, securing a $202 million settlement from pharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences. The settlement resolves allegations that Gilead engaged in an illegal scheme to pay kickbacks to doctors, incentivizing them to prescribe the company's HIV medications, ultimately leading to millions of dollars in false claims submitted to government health care programs, including North Carolina's Medicaid program.
North Carolina's Medicaid program is set to receive $760,106 from this nationwide settlement in principle, a testament to the collaborative efforts of Attorney General Jackson's office, the U.S. Department of Justice, and 48 other states. The investigation originated from a "qui tam" lawsuit, a legal action brought by a private citizen on behalf of the government.
"Doctors are supposed to prescribe the medications that are best for patients – not the medication they get the biggest prize for prescribing," stated Attorney General Jeff Jackson. "This pharma company put profits over patients. We won’t let that happen in North Carolina."
The investigation revealed that from January 2011 to November 2017, Gilead Sciences systematically provided various forms of kickbacks to healthcare providers. These incentives included lavish gifts to doctors who attended and spoke at promotional speaker programs for Gilead’s HIV drugs. Speakers, who were found to have high rates of prescribing Gilead drugs, received tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for their participation. The company also covered extensive travel expenses for these speakers, including trips to attractive and often distant destinations such as Hawaii, Miami, and New Orleans, and hosted opulent dinners at high-end restaurants.
Disturbingly, Gilead’s internal compliance mechanisms proved ineffective in curbing these illicit practices. The company's policies and procedures failed to prevent sales representatives from offering improper incentives to boost prescriptions of Gilead's medications, highlighting a critical lapse in corporate responsibility.
The successful resolution of this case was the result of a dedicated team effort by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units. Representatives from the attorneys general of California, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia played pivotal roles in investigating the claims and conducting settlement negotiations on behalf of the states.
Attorney General Jackson was joined in securing this monumental settlement by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This broad coalition underscores the widespread impact of Gilead’s actions and the collective commitment to holding pharmaceutical companies accountable.
About the Medicaid Investigations Division (MID):
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Investigations Division (MID) is tasked with investigating and prosecuting healthcare providers who defraud the Medicaid program. Beyond financial fraud, the MID also addresses patient abuse of Medicaid recipients, patient abuse of any patient in facilities receiving Medicaid funding, and the misappropriation of patients’ private funds in nursing homes that receive Medicaid funding.
To date, the MID has been instrumental in recovering over $1 billion in restitution and penalties for the state of North Carolina. The MID receives substantial federal support, with 75 percent of its funding for Federal fiscal year (FY) 2025 – totaling $8,453,116 – provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining 25 percent, amounting to $2,817,703 for FY 2025, is funded by the State of North Carolina.
North Carolinians are encouraged to report any instances of Medicaid fraud or patient abuse by contacting the MID at 919-881-2320.
