NEW YORK – The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Monday that it has indicted two people on charges of conspiracy to receive and pay healthcare kickbacks as part of a laboratory fraud scheme.
According to the government, Timothy Peoples of Bridgeton, Missouri, and Willie Ann Cleveland of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, operated a scheme in which they collected specimens from senior citizens for genetic and COVID-19 testing, charging laboratories for referrals and offering a physician a $100 kickback per lab test ordered.
According to the indictment, Cleveland received $9,000 from a laboratory on March 1, 2022, and wired $7,000 to Peoples three days later. They disguised the kickbacks as fees for marketing services.
The indictment also accuses Cleveland and Peoples of lying to federal agents during their investigation.
The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. Both Cleveland and Peoples have pleaded not guilty.