doctor and office manager agree to pay more than $420,000 to settle bribery allegations involving labs in New Jersey, Texas and South Carolina | Takeover bid

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Vijesh Patel, MD, and his office manager and wife Laju Patel, both of Port Neches, Texas, have agreed to pay $422,789 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they received kickbacks. wine in violation of anti-kickback law in exchange for referring patients for lab testing, and both have agreed to cooperate with Justice Department investigations and litigation against other participants in the alleged schemes.

Bribes can undermine a doctor’s medical judgment, lead to unnecessary tests and increase taxpayer-backed health care costs, said Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, Chief civil division of the Department of Justice. We will continue to prosecute doctors, labs and others responsible for schemes that violate rules designed to protect the integrity of federal health care programs.

Anti-Kickback Law prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving compensation to induce recommending items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other publicly funded health care programs. federal government. The anti-bribery law aims to ensure that the judgments of medical providers are not compromised by improper financial incentives and are instead based on the best interests of their patients.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Dr. and Mrs. Patel received bribes in violation of anti-bribery law in exchange for Dr. Patels’ referrals to three laboratories:

Texas lab. From December 2016 to July 2018, Dr. Patel allegedly received thousands of dollars in payments from an alleged management service organization (MSO) named Indus MG LLC (Indus) in exchange for ordering lab tests from True Health. Diagnostics LLC (True Health), a clinical laboratory in Frisco, Texas. The Indus MSO payments to Dr. Patel were allegedly disguised as returns on investment, but were in fact based on and offered in exchange for his referrals to True Health. New Jersey Laboratory. From August 2018 to August 2021, Dr. Patel allegedly received thousands of dollars in bribes disguised as investment returns from an alleged MSO named Avior Group LLC (Avior) in return for ordering lab tests from of RDx Bioscience, Inc. (RDx), a clinical laboratory in Kenilworth, New Jersey. RDx allegedly funded Dr. Patel’s compensation in the form of volume-based commissions paid to an independent recruiter, Corum Group LLC, which used an associated company, Avior, to pay bribes to Dr. Patel and others. other physicians in exchange for their referrals. . Additionally, from December 2018 to August 2022, Ms. Patel allegedly received bribes from RDx in the form of commercially unreasonable fees for allegedly collecting urine samples for testing that Dr. Patel referred to RDx. . South Carolina Laboratory. From August 2019 to December 2021, Dr. Patel reportedly received hundreds of dollars a month in inflated space rental payments in return for ordering lab tests from Labtech Diagnostics LLC (Labtech), a clinical lab in Anderson. , South Carolina. Labtechs lease payments would have been for a commercially unreasonable amount of space and excessive days and hours.

Patients deserve to know that decisions made by their health care providers are based solely on their medical needs, not a for-profit agenda, said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. Our office will continue to pursue anyone responsible for actions that may corrupt the medical decision-making process.

This settlement demonstrates the steadfastness of the Eastern District of Texas and its continued commitment to prosecuting all those responsible for engaging in kickback schemes that inevitably harm taxpayers, increase healthcare costs, and reduce access to health care, said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston for the Eastern District of Texas. We remain vigilant in our quest to stop those who participate in such kickback schemes and to hold them accountable for the collective damage they have caused.

Patients need to be able to trust that their physician’s medical recommendation is in their best interests and not influenced by the physician’s financial gain, said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs for the District of South Carolina. Our office has and will continue to hold accountable those who give and receive illegal bribes, both to maintain public confidence in the health care system and to ensure that taxpayer dollars are properly spent. .

Health care providers who engage in kickback schemes corrupt the provider-patient relationship and impose hidden costs on the health care system, said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Frisco of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG). Along with our law enforcement partners, our agency is committed to protecting the integrity of federal health care programs by holding those who illegally bill the programs accountable for their actions.

Today’s result demonstrates the unwavering resolve of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspectors General and our investigative partners to root out the fraud perpetrated against TRICARE , said Acting Special Agent in Charge Gregory P. Shilling for DCIS. Southwest Regional Office. DCIS remains focused on protecting and preserving valuable taxpayer dollars by holding accountable those who attempt to defraud the DoD.

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort between the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Divisions, the Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Eastern District of Texas, the District of New Jersey, and the District of South Carolina. , with assistance from HHS-OIG and DCIS. . To date, the United States has recovered more than $32 million related to behavior involving True Health or MSO kickbacks to doctors in Texas, including settlements under the False Claims Act with 34 doctors, two health executives, an office manager and a laboratory. Additionally, the United States has filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act against former True Health CEO Christopher Grottenthaler and others, which is captioned United States ex rel. STF, LLC v. True Health Diagnostics, LLC, et al., No. 4:16-cv-547 (ED Tex.). A defendant who breaks the law is liable for three times the amount of the government’s losses plus any applicable penalties.

The settlement announced today was handled by Trial Attorney Christopher Terranova of the Civil Divisions Commercial Litigation Division (Fraud Section), Assistant U.S. Attorney Kruti Dharia for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorneys assistants James Gillingham, Adrian Garcia and Betty Young for the East. District of Texas, and Assistant United States Attorney Beth C. Warren for the District of South Carolina.

The governments’ pursuit of this case illustrates the government’s focus on fighting healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tipping and complaints from all sources regarding potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement may be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477 ).

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and no liability has been determined.

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