Warner Chilcott To Plead Guilty In Health Care Fraud Case

Federal prosecutors say Warner Chilcott U.S. Sales LLC has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of health care fraud on charges of offering kickbacks to doctors for drug prescriptions.

The firm is a subsidiary of pharmaceutical manufacturer Warner Chilcott.

The Justice Department said Thursday that in the plea agreement in U.S. District Court in Boston the company agreed to pay $125 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability related to illegal marketing of drugs.

Several individuals also have pleaded guilty or were charged.

Authorities accuse the company of paying doctors between 2009 and 2013 to encourage prescriptions of Warner Chilcott drug, manipulating previous authorizations to induce insurance companies to pay for prescriptions the insurers may not have otherwise paid for and making unsubstantiated marketing claims.

A company spokesman did not comment.