More Doctors Implicated in Biodiagnostic Lab Case

Two doctors with a practice in New York have admitted to federal charges of accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals as part of a long-running scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), a clinical laboratory in Parsippany, N.J. Richard Goldberg and Gary Leeds each pleaded guilty Nov. 21 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark to one count of accepting bribes, which brings to 20 the number of people who have entered guilty pleas in connection with the BLS cash-for-patients scheme. Goldberg and Leeds admitted to accepting thousands of dollars per month in cash between September 2010 and April 2013 in return for referring patient blood specimens to BLS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in an announcement. The two doctors acknowledged they each accepted more than $100,000 in cash from BLS in exchange for referring a combined $1.8 million in lab business from their joint practice, Family Medical Group of Manhattan. As part of their guilty pleas, Goldberg and Leeds each agreed to forfeit $108,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2014. Organizers Admit Guilt Organizers of the scheme, including David Nicoll, BLS president and part owner; his brother Scott Nicoll, a senior BLS employee; and their cousin Craig Nordman, a BLS employee and chief executive officer of Advantech Sales LLC, have admitted it involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. They and four BLS sales representatives each pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of money laundering for their participation in the scheme. The investigation has recovered more than $6.5 million to date through forfeiture, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Takeaway: The kickback case involving Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services continues to expand as additional physicians admit to accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals.