A North Little Rock pathology laboratory and its current and former owners have agreed to a $30 million settlement with the federal government over accusations that they furnished unlawful kickbacks in a years-long scheme to profit from medically unnecessary testing services.

Advanced Pathology Solutions PLLC, formerly known as Advanced Pathology Solutions LLC, was targeted by federal investigators after three confidential whistleblower lawsuits were filed against the company. The U.S. Department of Justice filed its own suit on April 8, alleging that from 2015 through July 2022, Advanced Pathology Solutions illegally paid gastroenterology practices for testing referrals that resulted in false federal reimbursement claims.

The DOJ named the company’s current and former owners as Kevin Hannah, Donell Burkett and Daniel Hunter Pledger.

As part of the scheme, the company set up and managed limited-purpose labs in gastroenterology practices nationwide, and the gastroenterology practices agreed to exclusively refer their patients to Advanced Pathology Solutions, the DOJ said in a news release. One of the gastroenterology firms, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, agreed in February to pay $4.75 million to settle allegations that it unlawfully accepted kickbacks under the arrangement.

The DOJ complaint alleged that Advanced Pathology Solutions directed lab employees to automatically order special tests before a pathologist reviewed a routine test to determine whether it was...

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