Ep 4. The Fall Of An Opioid Mogul

The Fall Of An Opioid Mogul is the fourth episode of the fourteenth season of the popular show, American Greed. As the title suggests, it tells the story of a wealthy businessman who made his fortune selling opioids, and how his greed ended up being his downfall.

The episode starts by introducing viewers to John Kapoor, the founder and former CEO of Insys Therapeutics, a company that manufactured and sold a powerful opioid pain medication called Subsys. The drug had been approved by the FDA for use by cancer patients in severe pain, but Kapoor and his company had found a way to market it to a much wider audience, including people with back pain and other conditions not related to cancer. As a result, the drug was being prescribed to people who didn't need it, leading to addiction, overdoses, and deaths.

The show goes on to detail the various tactics Insys used to convince doctors to prescribe Subsys, including paying them kickbacks and bribes, and lying about the risks and benefits of the drug. Viewers also get to hear from former employees and whistleblowers who describe the toxic culture at Insys, where sales reps were encouraged to do whatever it takes to sell more Subsys, even if it meant breaking the law.

As the episode progresses, it becomes clear that the net of corruption and deception woven by Insys is wide and far-reaching. The company had allegedly paid millions of dollars in bribes to doctors across the country in exchange for prescribing Subsys, and had even hosted lavish dinners and events as a way to butter up potential prescribers. In one particularly egregious example, a doctor who was known for prescribing large amounts of opioids was given a lap dance by a sales rep during a company-sponsored event.

Over time, however, Insys's tactics began to catch up with them. In 2017, several former executives and sales reps were arrested and charged with various crimes, including bribery, fraud, and conspiracy. Among those indicted were Kapoor and several other high-ranking executives, who were accused of leading the company's illegal marketing campaign. In 2019, Kapoor was found guilty of racketeering and conspiracy, and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.

Throughout the episode, viewers are given a window into the devastating toll that Insys and other opioid manufacturers have had on communities across the country. We meet families who have lost loved ones to overdoses, and hear from addiction experts who detail the ways in which opioid addiction has become a national crisis. The show ends with a sobering reminder that, despite the downfall of Insys and other companies like it, the human cost of the opioid epidemic is still staggering, and the fight to end it is far from over.

Overall, The Fall Of An Opioid Mogul is a powerful and timely episode of American Greed, bringing to light the corrupt practices of the pharmaceutical industry and the harm they have caused to countless people. It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked greed, and a reminder that justice is possible, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable corporate power.