NEW YORK – The US Department of Justice said this week that the head of a lab marketing firm as well as three Charlotte, North Carolina-based physicians and their practices have agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve allegations of False Claims Act violations stemming from a lab kickback scheme.
According to the government, Thomas Carnaggio and his lab marketing firm South Ventures paid physicians Steven Bauer, Larry Berman, and Alireza Nami kickbacks on behalf of an unnamed Anderson, South Carolina-based lab in exchange for test referrals.
The kickbacks led to the submission of false or fraudulent lab testing claims to Medicare and TRICARE in violation of the False Claims Act.
Under the terms of the settlement, Carnaggio and South Ventures will pay $400,000 to resolve allegations that between January 2017 and January 2020 he and his company offered doctors thousands of dollars in kickback disguised as office space rentals and phlebotomy payments in exchange for lab testing orders.
Bauer and Ballantyne Medical Associates have agreed to pay $205,000 to resolve allegations that between May 2016 and December 2021 they received thousands of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for ordering lab testing. Bauer provided information that aided the government's investigation and received credit for his cooperation under DOJ guidelines.
Berman and his practice agreed to pay $385,000 to resolve allegations that between July 2017 and November 2021 they received thousands of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for test orders.
Nami and Joint and Muscle Medical Care agreed to pay $383,400 to resolve allegations that between November 2016 and November 2021 they received thousands of dollars in kickbacks in exchange for test orders.
The DOJ noted that the claims resolved by the settlements are only allegations. There has been no determination of liability.