NEWARK, N.J. – Two clinical laboratories and their owners have agreed to pay $5.7 million to resolve allegations that they caused the submission of false claims to Medicare by paying kickbacks in return for genetic testing samples, the Department of Justice announced today.
Metric Lab Services LLC and Metric Management Services LLC (Metric) and Spectrum Diagnostic Labs LLC (Spectrum) and two of their owners and operators, Sherman Kennerson and Jeffrey Madison, have agreed to the settlement.
“Rather than compete fairly for business, these labs engaged in a brazen kickback scheme to rake in millions of dollars of Medicare money,” Philip R. Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said. “A patient’s needs must guide medical decisions, not who is paying the biggest kickback. Today’s settlement recoups millions of dollars for the Medicare program, and demonstrates this Office’s continuing resolve to protect the integrity of federal healthcare programs.”
“Laboratories that attempt to profit from unlawful kickbacks will be held accountable,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said. “The department will continue to pursue those who undermine the integrity of federal health care programs and waste taxpayer dollars.”
“When health care providers engage in kickback schemes – particularly ones that deceive Medicare patients about the medical necessity of services – the trust of both patients and...
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