Outcome Health
Outcome Health is a Chicago-based healthcare technology company founded by Rishi Shah. Its registered name is ContextMedia Health LLC.[1] It is majority owned by Littlejohn & Co., a private equity firm.[2] After its founders were indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges of fraud and also sued by the SEC, veteran tech investor Howard A. Tullman called Outcome "our version of Theranos."[3]
History
In May 2017, a funding round with Goldman Sachs, CapitalG, Pritzker Group, and others invested $600 million in Outcome Health, giving it a $5.6 billion valuation.[4] This is the largest single funding round in Chicago since Groupon in 2011, when it raised $950 million in its fifth funding round.[5]
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal unnamed former employees and advertisers accused the company of overcharging their customers for advertisements and misquoting third-party analyses and falsifying documents on the ads' performance. According to the accusations, Outcome Health reported that the ads appeared on more video screens than they had installed.[1][6] Lanny Davis, a company spokesperson, responded by saying a law firm had been hired to "review allegations about certain employees’ conduct that have been raised internally."[1]
As of January 2018, Outcome Health decided to settle outstanding investor lawsuits in exchange for having Shah and Agarwal step down.[7]
In June 2018, Matt McNally, former chief media officer at Publicis Health, was announced as the company's new CEO.[8]
On November 25, 2019, four former executives were indicted[9] for falsifying ad performance statements to secure bank loans of nearly $1 Billion. Additionally, former CEO Rishi Shah and former President Shradha Agarwal were charged with mail, wire and bank fraud. Shah and Agarwal face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
References
- Winkler, Rolfe (October 12, 2017). "Outcome, a Hot Tech Startup, Misled Advertisers With Manipulated Information, Sources Say". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- Company press release
- John Pletz, Crain's Chicago Business, December 2, 2019
- Konrad, Alex. "This 31-Year-Old Is Worth $3B For Bringing Drug Marketing Into Your Doctor's Office". Forbes. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- "Chicago's newest billionaire, 31-year-old Rishi Shah, is self-made". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- Lynley, Matthew. "Startups advertising In-office medical advertising startup Outcome Health reportedly misled advertisers". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
- Marotti, Ally. "'Uphill battle' predicted for Outcome Health after settlement with investors". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- Marotti, Ally. "Outcome Health names advertising executive as new CEO". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- "4 health company executives accused in $1B fraud scheme". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
External links
Recap on Outcome Health
- WSJ investigation
- "Outcome Health Misled Advertisers With Manipulated Information, Sources Say". WSJ. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- COO leaves
- "Outcome Health Loses Operating Chief Vivek Kundra". WSJ. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- Advertisers suspend deals
- "Drug Advertisers Suspend Deals With Outcome Health". WSJ. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- Investors sue
- "Investors Sue Ad Startup Outcome Health for Alleged Fraud". WSJ. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- DOJ investigates