An Indian origin owner of a laboratory in the US was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a genetic testing scam that led to the misappropriation of $463 million (equivalent to around Rs 3,850 crore) from Medicare over three years.
Identified as Minal Patel, 44, of LabSolutions LLC in Georgia, he received the sentence for his pivotal role in deceiving Medicare by submitting genetic and other laboratory tests, which neither the patients needed nor requested. These tests were obtained through illicit means such as kickbacks and bribes by collaborating with patient brokers, telemedicine companies, and call centres. Patel used telemarketing calls to deceive customers. These calls falsely claimed that the patients’ packages covered costly genetic tests related to cancer.
The department of Justice said that following the beneficiaries’ agreement to undergo these tests, Patel offered kickbacks and bribes to the patient brokers to secure signed doctor’s orders that would authorise the tests, and these orders were subsequently issued by telemedicine companies.
“Deception, kickbacks, and bribes have no place in providing legitimate genetic testing and telemedicine services to patients in need,” remarked Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.
“Patel illicitly obtained hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicare through an intricate testing fraud scheme. Now, he is facing the consequences of his actions,” he added.
Between July 2016 and August 2019, LabSolutions submitted claims to Medicare amounting to over $463 million that included requests for thousands of genetic tests that were unnecessary. In response, the national health insurance programme, Medicare, ended up disbursing over $187 million for these fraudulent claims. Throughout this time frame, Patel personally profited over $21 million from the ill-gotten Medicare funds.
This legal case was initiated under the banner of Operation Double Helix, a law enforcement endeavor spearheaded by the Health Care Fraud Strike Force and overseen by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. This operation was specifically aimed at addressing fraudulent activities in the realm of genetic cancer testing. The operation led to legal actions being taken against multiple individuals affiliated with telemedicine companies and genetic testing laboratories, all of whom are accused of participating in one of the largest healthcare fraud schemes ever exposed.
According to a press release, an asset forfeiture hearing is scheduled for August 25.
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