Florida cancer doctor pleads guilty in conspiracy case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An oncologist and former president of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute LLC has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in what authorities say was a scheme to limit cancer-care competition in Southwest Florida.

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William Harwin pleaded guilty Wednesday to “conspiracy to allocate oncology treatments,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Thursday.

The case involved allegations that Florida Cancer Specialists and another oncology company agreed to suppress competition, with Florida Cancer Specialists providing chemotherapy treatments and the other company providing radiation treatments, according to Thursday’s news release and a 2020 Justice Department news release.

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“This long-running criminal conspiracy denied cancer patients access to a competitive marketplace for lifesaving oncology treatments,” Emma Burnham, acting director of criminal enforcement for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, said in a prepared statement. Florida Cancer Specialists was charged in 2020 and agreed to pay a $100 million criminal penalty, the Justice Department said.

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