Fraud in the News
Lab Owner Pleads Guilty to $6.9 Million Genetic Testing & COVID-19 Testing Fraud Scheme. A Florida man pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Florida to a $6.9 million conspiracy to defraud Medicare by paying kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary lab tests that were then billed to Medicare. The defendant exploited the COVID-19 pandemic by bundling COVID-19 testing with other forms of testing that patients did not need, including genetic testing and tests for rare respiratory pathogens.
Laboratory Owner Sentenced to 82 Months in Prison for COVID-19 Kickback Scheme. A Florida owner of multiple diagnostic testing laboratories was sentenced today in the Southern District of Florida to 82 months in prison for a scheme to defraud the United States and to pay and receive kickbacks through exploiting regulatory waivers put in place to ensure access to health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arkansas Man Charged in $100 Million COVID-19 Health Care Fraud Scheme. A federal grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas returned an indictment yesterday charging an Arkansas man who owned or managed numerous diagnostic testing laboratories with health care fraud in connection with over $100 million dollars in false billings for urine drug testing, COVID-19 testing, and other clinical laboratory services.
Laboratory Owner Pleads Guilty to $73 Million Medicare Kickback Scheme. A Florida man pleaded guilty yesterday in the Southern District of Florida for his role in a $73 million conspiracy to defraud Medicare by paying kickbacks to a telemedicine company to arrange for doctors to authorize medically unnecessary genetic testing. The scheme exploited temporary amendments to telehealth restrictions enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic that were intended to ensure access to care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Telemedicine Company Owner Charged in Superseding Indictment for $784 Million Health Care Fraud, Illegal Kickback and Tax Evasion Scheme. A federal grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, returned a superseding indictment today charging a Florida owner of multiple telemedicine companies with orchestrating a health care fraud and illegal kickback scheme that involved the submission of over $784 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. This is one of the largest Medicare fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department. The superseding indictment also charges the defendant with concealing and disguising the proceeds of the scheme in order to avoid paying income taxes.
Hertel & Brown Physical & Aquatic Therapy, Its Two Founders Aaron Hertel and Michael Brown, and 18 Employees Indicted on Fraud Charges. A physical therapy practice in Erie County, Pennsylvania, and 20 people – 18 of them from northwestern Pennsylvania – have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and health care fraud and health care fraud, Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman announced today.
Delaware County Doctor Sentenced to Three Years for Unlawfully Distributing Oxycodone to Patients in “Pill Mill” Case. Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Timothy F. Shawl, M.D., 62, of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania was sentenced to three years in prison, and two years of supervised release United States District Judge R. Barclay Surrick for his unlawful distribution of controlled substances in connection with his medical practice based in Philadelphia.
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