Federal prosecutors said today that Abiomed (NSDQ:ABMD) agreed to pony up more than $3 million to settle allegations that it wined and dined physicians to induce them to use its Impella heart pump.
The U.S. Justice Dept. said that Danvers, Mass.–based Abiomed agreed to settle the allegations for $3.1 million after a whistleblower’s lawsuit – which is still under seal at the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts – accused the company of buying meals for doctors “at some of the country’s most expensive restaurants, including Menton in Boston, Nobu in Los Angeles, Spago in Beverly Hills, and Eleven Madison Park in New York City.”