Ex-Spectranetics CEO Schulte's Conviction Stands

The 2012 conviction of John G. Schulte, former Spectranetics (Colorado Springs, CO) CEO, on charges of lying to federal investigators has been left standing by the U.S. Appeals Court for the 10^th Circuit. Schulte's sentence of one year of probation therefore also remains intact.

A jury convicted Schulte in March 2012 on the single count of lying to investigators while acquitting him on 11 other charges that included conspiracy to defraud the government. In January, the appeals court declined to revisit the case, denying Schulte's argument that his statements were not aimed at misleading the FDA investigation.

The charges stemmed from an investigation by FDA and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2008 that the company had illegally imported and sold unapproved medical devices. The company was also charged with conducting an unapproved clinical study and with promoting devices for which it hadn't received FDA clearance or approval. The Securities and Exchange Commission later got into the act when the company's stock price dropped precipitously following the revelation of the charges against the company.

The company reached an agreement with prosecutors that it would pay $5 million to resolve the case. A Justice Department news release at that time said that Spectranetics "has accepted responsibility for its conduct" and agreed that "officers and employees who acted on behalf of the company engaged in multiple areas of wrongdoing."

Schulte resigned shortly after the raid. He and three others was indicted in 2010. Former vice president of business development Obinna "Larry" Adighije, former business development manager Trung Pham, and consultant Hernan Ricuarte also faced charges in the scheme.

Pham was acquitted of all charges and prosecutors dropped all the charges against Adighije. Ricuarte pleaded guilty in August 2012 to a single count of concealing a felony.

Schulte apparently didn't miss any meals after his conviction. He served as president and CEO of Mitralign for a time, and is now CEO and executive chairman of Cambridge Endoscopic Devices Inc. (Framingham, MA).

Spectranetics makes excimer laser systems for use in minimally invasive interventional procedures within the cardiovascular system, specifically targeting coronary and peripheral artery disease. The company manufactures and sells a range of peripheral and cardiac laser catheters, and aspiration and support catheters. They also manufacture excimer laser sheaths and cardiac lead management accessories, including those for laser-assisted extraction of cardiac pacemaker and defibrillator leads.

Stephen Levy is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.