Guidant kickback case: Army cardiologist fined $12,700

October 11, 2011 by MassDevice staff

A U.S. District Court hit military cardiologist Major Jason Davis with $12,700 in fines to repay gifts and payments he received from Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) Guidant Corp.

The judge ordered Davis to repay "every dinner, every bottle of wine and every other gratuity that you have ever received from Guidant" in announcing the sentence against him.

The same relationship cost Guidant $600,000 last year to settle claims that it provided illegal payments to Davis "so that he would use the company's medical devices in cardiac procedures he performed and use his influence with other physicians practicing at Madigan Army Hospital so they would use the company's devices as well," according to a U.S. Dept. of Justice press release.

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"We resolved the matter in November 2010 for an amount not material to us," BSX's February 2011 annual report reads.

Between April and October 2007 Davis accepted nearly $5,000 from Guidant. Other payments included a $2,000 speaking fee and nearly $5,400 in meals and other items from 2005 to 2007.

Davis began working at Madigan Army Medical Center in 2004 and became chief of cardiology in 2008. Between January 2006 and February 2009, Boston Scientific provided him with meals, payments and other gratuities, and he almost exclusively used Boston Scientific pacemakers and implantable defibrillators.

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