The former CEO of Stimwave, a company that sold pain-relief devices with dummy pieces of plastic, was sentenced Monday by a New York judge to six years in prison.
Stimwave sold nerve stimulation devices to combat pain. Under CEO Laura Perryman’s leadership, the company warped the design of their devices to earn more reimbursement money from insurers, resulting in unnecessary plastic parts that allowed doctors to claim around $18,000 more than they previously could. Stimwave was thus able to sell their devices for more money. From 2017 to 2020, the company sold nearly 8,000 devices with the fake component. Perryman led the company from 2010 to 2019.
“Laura Perryman callously created a dummy medical device component and told doctors to implant it into patients,” said U.S. attorney Damian Williams. “Perryman breached the trust of the doctors who bought her medical device, and more importantly, the patients who were implanted with that piece of plastic.”
This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers
Unlock this article — and get additional analysis of the technologies disrupting health care — by subscribing to STAT+.
Already have an account? Log in
Already have an account? Log in
About the Author Reprints
To submit a correction request, please visit our Contact Us page.
STAT encourages you to share your voice. We welcome your commentary, criticism, and expertise on our subscriber-only platform, STAT+ Connect