Ten Texas Doctors and a Healthcare Executive Agree to Pay over $1.68 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations
US Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas, Mar. 22, 2022
Total of Eighteen Texas Doctors Have Settled Related Healthcare Fraud Allegations
SHERMAN, Texas – Ten additional Texas doctors and a healthcare executive have agreed to pay a total of $1,680,430 to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving illegal kickbacks in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law, and to cooperate with the Department’s investigations of and litigation against other parties, announced Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
“There is nothing more paramount to justice than holding all individuals accountable for committing and profiting from healthcare fraud, no matter their station in life,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “These additional settlements with these physicians and another healthcare executive exude our office’s continued dedication to pursuing all individuals who have tried to disguise their illegal kickback schemes under a fig-leaf of legitimacy through purported investment opportunities in order to enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayer-funded healthcare programs.”
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally funded programs. The Stark Law forbids a hospital or laboratory from billing Medicare for certain services referred by physicians that have a financial relationship with the hospital or laboratory. The Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law are intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives and are instead based on the best interests of their patients.
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