NEW YORK – The US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said last week that a Texas lab owner has pleaded guilty to a $1.7 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Damon Heath Roberts, owner of JDS Labs, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit or receive kickbacks for referrals to a federal healthcare program.
According to court documents, Roberts and others, including medical providers and individuals with access to patient information, shared Medicare beneficiary information that Roberts used to bill Medicare for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, with Roberts paying kickbacks to those who provided him this information.
Roberts submitted nearly $4 million in claims for the COVID-19 tests and received roughly $1.7 million in reimbursement for those claims. He paid $149,066 in bribes and kickbacks, the US Department of Justice said.
He is scheduled to be sentenced March 28, 2024, and faces up to five years in federal prison.