WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2021) The US authorities charged the owner and manager of multiple diagnostic testing laboratories with healthcare fraud over a scheme that generated more than $100 million in false billings for COVID-19 tests, urine drug testing and other procedures, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
"Billy Joe Taylor, 42, engaged in a scheme between February 2017 and May 2021 in connection with diagnostic laboratory testing, including urine drug testing and tests for respiratory illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, that were medically unnecessary, not ordered by medical providers, and/or not provided as represented," the Justice Department said in a press release.
The indictment alleges that Taylor obtained medical information and private personal information for Medicare beneficiaries, and then misused that confidential information to repeatedly submit fake claims to Medicare for diagnostic tests, the release said.
Taylor then used proceeds from the $100 million fraud to live a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing numerous luxury automobiles, including a Rolls Royce, real estate, jewelry, guitars, and other luxury items, the release added.
Taylor is charged with 16 counts of health care fraud, and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, according to the release.
