A mobile phlebotomy lab and its owners have agreed to pay at least $135,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they submitted false claims for services and associated travel mileage and paid kickbacks to a third-party marketer of the services.
Veni-Express Inc., headquartered in California, and its owners Myrna and Sonny Steinbaum, agreed to pay $100,000, plus additional amounts based on the sale of company property. Myrna Steinbaum agreed to pay $25,000, and Sonny Steinbaum agreed to pay $10,000.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that from 2015 to 2019, Veni-Express and the Steinbaums submitted false claims for venipuncture (blood draw) procedures that the company did not actually perform during homebound patient visits, and for travel mileage associated with the visits that was not reimbursable by Medicare. The DOJ also alleged that from July 2014 to June 2015, Veni-Express paid unlawful kickbacks in the form of a percentage of company revenue to a third-party, Altera Laboratories also known as Med2U Healthcare LLC, for the marketing Veni-Express services.
The civil settlement resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Banisha Evans, a former phlebotomist for another California provider, and Richard Drummond, a technical director at a Texas laboratory. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the U.S. for false claims and receive a portion of any recovery.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.
Topics California Claims
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