Judge Rejects $296M Plea Deal on Heart Devices

A federal judge in Minneapolis has rejected a plea deal by Boston Scientific Corp.'s Guidant unit to pay $296 million in exchange for pleading guilty to charges it failed to properly disclose changes made to some implantable heart devices.

Judge Donovan Frank says Tuesday that the plea deal doesn't address the criminal conduct at issue and Guidant's history.

Frank objects that the plea deal doesn't put Guidant on probation. Among other things, he suggests Boston Scientific could be ordered to dedicate some resources to charity, or it could be required to set up a compliance and ethics program to address the specific issues in this case.

Two doctors who cared for a man who died after his Guidant device malfunctioned were among those who urged the judge to reject the plea.