Pennsylvania Medical Assistants Confess to Participating in Genetic Test Fraud Scheme
Case: Federal and state enforcers are closing in on a Pennsylvania primary care physician who allegedly ripped off Medicare for genetic tests to the tune of $755,241. At the center of the scheme is Yitzachok “Barry” Kurtzer and his wife, Robin, who accepted monthly cash kickbacks of up to $5,000 in exchange for collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients and sending them for genetic tests to clinical labs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Kurtzers were able to keep the scheme going even when the COVID-19 pandemic substantially reduced in-patient visits by accepting payments via wire and mobile phone money-transfer apps. Significance: Prosecutors appear to be building a strong case against the Kurtzer. Three persons have stepped forward and admitted their role in the scheme, including two medical assistants and and an employee who helped collect the DNA swabs.
Case: Federal and state enforcers are closing in on a Pennsylvania primary care physician who allegedly ripped off Medicare for genetic tests to the tune of $755,241. At the center of the scheme is Yitzachok “Barry” Kurtzer and his wife, Robin, who accepted monthly cash kickbacks of up to $5,000 in exchange for collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients and sending them for genetic tests to clinical labs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Kurtzers were able to keep the scheme going even when the COVID-19 pandemic substantially reduced in-patient visits by accepting payments via wire and mobile phone money-transfer apps.
Significance: Prosecutors appear to be building a strong case against the Kurtzer. Three persons have stepped forward and admitted their role in the scheme, including two medical assistants and and an employee who helped collect the DNA swabs.
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