NEW YORK – The US Department of Justice said this week that a group of healthcare providers and laboratory marketers have agreed to pay more than $1.9 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations stemming from a lab kickback scheme.
According to the government, lab marketing companies arranged with a number of healthcare providers to steer test referrals to an Anderson, South Carolina clinical lab in exchange for kickbacks.
The kickbacks allegedly led to the submission of fraudulent lab testing claims to Medicare and TRICARE.
The parties agreeing to the settlement include: Gerald Congdon of Pawleys Island, South Carolina; Gbenga Aluko of Charlotte, North Carolina; Anup Banerjee of Gastonia, North Carolina, and their medical practices. The settlement also includes Curis Healthcare of Chicago; Omar Hussain of South Miami, Florida; and Saeed Medical Group doing business as Alliance Immediate and Primary Care of Chicago.
Congdon and his medical practices, Coastal Urgent Care and Coastal Wellness Center, have agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve allegations that between May 2016 and November 2021, they received thousands of dollars in kickbacks disguised as office rental space and phlebotomy payments in exchange for test orders.
Aluko and Eagle Medical Center have agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that between May 2016 and November 2021, they received thousands of dollars in kickbacks disguised as office rental space, phlebotomy, and toxicology payments in exchange for test orders.
Banerjee and Gastonia Medical Specialty Clinic agreed to pay $206,000 to resolve allegations that from April 2017 to November 2021, they received thousands of dollars in remuneration disguised as office space rental and phlebotomy payments in exchange for test orders.
Omar Hussein and his marketing company Curis Healthcare agreed to pay $817,808 to resolve allegations that from April 2020 to August 2021, they received commissions from the South Carolina lab as independent contractors based on the volume and value of the Medicare and TRICARE test referrals they arranged. Hussein, Curis, and his other company Saeed Medical Group also agreed to pay $240,000 to resolve allegations that from April 2020 to August 2021, they received thousand of dollars in exchange for ordering testing from the South Carolina lab.
The parties have also agreed to cooperate with DOJ's investigations of other participants in the alleged schemes.
The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability, DOJ said.