Here are seven lawsuits involving kickback allegations from the last month, as reported by Becker's.
1. Quintan Cockerell, a medical marketer in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., was sentenced to two years and five months in prison and ordered to pay more than $59 million in restitution for his role in a scheme that defrauded federal healthcare programs.
He conspired with others to create and market expensive compounded medications that were intended to be tailored for individual patient needs, but instead designed formulations to maximize reimbursements. Pharmacy owners and others paid kickbacks to Mr. Cockerell and others, who recruited physicians to write prescriptions for the medications, including by creating investment opportunities.
2. Kingsley Chin, MD, reached a civil settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that he violated the False Claims Act. Dr. Chin, who founded SpineFrontier, was accused of paying kickbacks to spine surgeons who consulted with the company.
3. Former Georgia insurance commissioner John Oxendine was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for participating in a scheme that billed private insurers for alse claims.
The scheme, which took place after Mr. Oxendine left office, billed private insurers for over $3 million in false claims. Mr. Oxendine would give a presentation to physicians at Dr. Gallups' practice pressuring them to bill medically unnecessary tests. The lab, Next Health, paid a 50% kickback to Mr. Oxendine and Dr. Gallups from net profits it made from the false claims.
4. Home health companies Guardian Health Care, Gem City Home Care and Care Connection of Cincinnati agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle claims they provided kickbacks to physicians and assisted living facilities for Medicare referrals.
From 2013 to 2022, the three companies, along with their owner, Evolution Health, allegedly provided lease payments and other benefits in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries. The companies, which operate in Texas, Ohio and Indiana, then allegedly billed Medicare for the home health services provided to the referred patients.
5. A federal judge denied a motion to dismiss claims that the former president, CFO and partial owner of Cardiac Imaging violated Stark law. The Justice Department filed a complaint in February alleging Rick Nassenstein played a central role in a scheme in which the company paid referring cardiologists exorbitant fees to supervise PET scans from at least 2017 through June 2023. Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on June 11 denied the motion to dismiss the allegations.
6. Whitefish, Mont., physician Ronald Dean, MD, pleaded guilty to participating in a $39 million Medicare fraud scheme. From January 2022 to July 2023, Dr. Dean signed prescriptions for durable medical equipment and COVID-19 tests for patients who did not need them. Two telemedicine companies would then bill Medicare for the costs and Dr. Dean would receive kickbacks.
7. David Young, MD, a physician from Fredericksburg, Texas, was convicted for submitting more than $70 million in fraudulent claims for orthotic braces and generic tests. Dr. Young submitted tests for more than 13,000 beneficiaries.