Arr! A scallywag from Georgia be given a 27-year sentence for partaking in a mighty $463 million genetic testing fraud!
2023-08-21
Avast ye scurvy landlubbers! Minal Patel, a scurvy dog hailing from Georgia, a land far away, be sentenced to a long and salted 27 years in the brig. His dastardly deeds in a grand scheme of bilge-sucking genetic testing fraud be worth a mighty $463 million!
A Georgia man, Minal Patel, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for his involvement in a $463 million genetic testing scheme to defraud Medicare, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Patel owned LabSolutions LLC, a lab enrolled with Medicare that conducted genetic tests. He conspired with patient brokers, telemedicine companies, and call centers to target Medicare beneficiaries with telemarketing calls, falsely claiming that Medicare covered expensive cancer genetic tests.After the beneficiaries agreed to take the test, Patel paid kickbacks and bribes to patient brokers to obtain signed doctors' orders. To conceal these illegal activities, Patel required patient brokers to sign sham contracts. He was convicted of health care fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and payment of illegal health care kickbacks.
From July 2016 to August 2019, LabSolutions submitted over $463 million in claims to Medicare, including for unnecessary genetic tests, and received over $187 million in payments. Patel personally received over $21 million in Medicare proceeds during that time. Patel was indicted in 2019, and federal agents raided genetic testing laboratories, leading to criminal charges against 35 individuals across four states for genetic testing fraud, causing $2.1 billion in losses to federal healthcare insurance programs.
This case highlights the seriousness of healthcare fraud and the efforts made by authorities to combat it. Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, remains a target for fraudulent schemes due to its large funding and vulnerable population. The sentence imposed on Patel serves as a deterrent to others who may attempt to defraud the system.