UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KEVIN CLAY - Articles

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KEVIN CLAY

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Dec 22, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Amy Mason Saharia, WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY, LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Rebecca C. Lutzko, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Amy Mason Saharia, Patrick J. Looby, Alexandra Nickerson, WILLIAMS & CONNOLLY, LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Rebecca C. Lutzko, Jason Manion, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

Judge(s): GILMAN, STRANCH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Toledo

PER CURIAM. Kevin Clay and his best friend founded Theramedical, a pharmaceutical sales company that specialized in compounded prescriptions. But unlike other pharmaceutical companies, Theramedical marketed its compounds to prospective patients, not doctors. The pitch: the patient would receive a “commission”—a cut of the insurance reimbursement—for each prescription filled. To facilitate this payment scheme, Theramedical partnered with a pharmacy that agreed to give Theramedical a portion of the insurance reimbursements. Theramedical then heavily recruited potential patients, or “sales representatives,” from a local employer, whose insurance plan covered the prescriptions. And Theramedical directed the representatives to a doctor who readily doled out the prescriptions. Within just two years, Theramedical made millions of dollars. To minimize his taxable income, Clay established a public charity but treated its funds as if they were his own. Eventually, authorities caught wind of Theramedical’s activities and indicted Clay, along with others. A jury convicted Clay of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, and making a false statement to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The district court sentenced him to 51 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay nearly $7 million in restitution. Clay appeals. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM in part, VACATE in part, and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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