Healthcare industry-related enforcement actions announced over the last week saw two key cases involving labs, as well as a doctor convicted of stealing from COVID-19 relief programs. All three cases are examples of what have become common targets for federal enforcement agencies, including urine drug testing (UDT):
Healthcare-Related Enforcement Actions from January 10, 2023 to January 18, 2023
| Date Action Announced | Defendant(s) | Allegations/Charges/Convictions | Result |
| Jan. 10, 2023 | Richard Reid, sales manager and co-owner of now-dissolved Northwest Physicians Laboratory (NWPL) | Convicted in March 2022 of 4 counts of receipt of kickbacks and 1 count of conspiracy to solicit and receive kickbacks involving healthcare programs in connection with a $6.5 million fraud scheme involving referrals of UDT and $3.7 million worth of kickbacks. | Sentenced to 2 years in prison. Reid plans to appeal the sentence and 3 other defendants involved in the scheme, who have pled guilty to their roles, are yet to be sentenced.1 |
| Jan. 11, 2023 | Donald Booker, owner of urine toxicology lab United Diagnostics Laboratories (UDL) and mental health and substance abuse services provider United Youth Care Services (UYCS). | Convicted of money laundering, money laundering conspiracy, numerous violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in relation to an $11 million fraud scheme. The scheme involved recruiting people eligible for Medicaid and other services to submit samples for medically unnecessary testing, which was then billed to North Carolina’s Medicaid program. | Sentencing date yet to be set. A co-defendant has pled guilty for her role in the scheme, but has not yet been convicted.2 |
| Jan. 17, 2023 | Dr. Francis F. Joseph | Convicted of theft in connection with healthcare and wire fraud for stealing roughly $250,000 from two different COVID-19 relief programs—the Paycheck Protection Program and the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program—for using the funds for his own personal expenses. Acquitted of theft of government property related to a separate COVID-19 relief payment. | Could see up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud count. Sentencing date not yet set.3 |
For more information on these and other recent cases and the lessons labs can learn from them, see the Labs in Court and Enforcement Scorecard sections in G2’s Lab Compliance Advisor. Sign in to your LCA subscription, or sign up for a free LCA trial to gain access.
References:
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/former-co-owner-and-sales-manager-defunct-medical-testing-lab-sentenced-prison
- https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-josh-stein-wins-conviction-in-11-million-medicaid-fraud-scheme/
- https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/physician-convicted-misappropriating-approximately-250000-covid-19-relief-programs