Thomas J. Whalen, D.O., 65, a Havertown, Pennsylvania, rheumatologist, pleaded guilty to fraud and drug importation charges for his role in a scheme to illegally import medications not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and administer these medications to his patients, and unlawfully distributing oxycodone to his patients. In pleading guilty, Whalen admitted that, from about January 2014 through March 2018, he illegally imported non-FDA-approved biologic medications, including Remicade, Synvisc, Synvisc-One, Orencia, Prolia/Xgeva and Boniva. Rather than purchase FDA-approved versions of these medicines from authorized distributors, Whalen devised a scheme to purchase much cheaper foreign, non-FDA-approved versions of these medications. Unbeknownst to his patients, Whalen injected or infused his patients with the non-FDA-approved medications and then falsely billed federal healthcare benefit programs approximately $2.3 million and was paid directly approximately $1.1 million, and pocketed the profits for himself, he admitted.
