Florida doctor admits to role in limiting cancer patients’ options for life-saving care

FLORIDA — A cancer doctor has admitted guilt for his part in an antitrust conspiracy that limited the options for cancer patients seeking treatment in Southwest Florida for life-saving care, said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to the DOJ, Dr. William Harwin, a medical oncologist who used to be the president and managing partner of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC (FCS), an oncology group headquartered in Fort Myers, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to allocate oncology treatments for cancer patients living in Southwest Florida.

According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Harwin took part in a plot from 1999 to September 2016 to stop competition by agreeing to give cancer patients chemo treatments from FCS and radiation treatments from another oncology company in Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties

Harwin admitted to breaking Section One of the Sherman Act and was found guilty on one count, said the DOJ. The court will decide when the sentence will take place, at which time a federal district court judge will decide on the sentence.

“This long-running criminal conspiracy denied cancer patients access to a competitive marketplace for lifesaving oncology treatments,” said Acting Director of Criminal Enforcement Emma Burnham of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.

“The Antitrust Division will not hesitate to prosecute health care providers who choose profits over patients.”

“The FBI will not stand by and allow those trusted with saving lives to manipulate the health care system for their own benefit,” said Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office.

“This investigation demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and its partners to protect patient care and the healthcare marketplace.”

In April 2020, FCS was charged for its role in the same criminal conspiracy and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement resolving the charge against the company, under which it admitted to conspiring to allocate chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer patients.

Under the agreement, FCS agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty and to cooperate fully with the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation.

The FBI Tampa Field Office – Fort Myers RA investigated the case.

Assistant Chief Mark Grundvig, Senior Trial Counsel Eun-Ha Kim, and Trial Attorneys Patrick Hallagan and Aidan McCarthy of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal II Section are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation or other antitrust violations should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258, or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.