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Notable Settlement
Pharma & Medical Devices
$27 Million

Daniel Hurt & Affiliated Laboratories — Genetic Testing Kickbacks

Genetic Testing Scheme Resolves for Over $27 Million

By Angie KellyLast updated: December 4, 2024

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

TL;DR: Genetic Testing Scheme Resolves for Over $27 Million This case resulted in a $27 Million resolution and demonstrates the impact of whistleblower protections in recovering funds from fraud.

Summary

Daniel Hurt and entities he owned or operated agreed to pay over $27 million to resolve DOJ allegations that false claims were submitted to Medicare for cancer genomic (CGx) tests that were not medically necessary and were tied to illegal kickbacks. DOJ alleged a coordinated model involving telemarketing outreach to Medicare beneficiaries, telemedicine providers who "prescribed" tests, laboratories that performed testing, and billing entities (including a hospital) that submitted claims to CMS. DOJ also stated the resolving parties agreed to exclusion from Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs, and noted Hurt had previously pleaded guilty to criminal healthcare fraud; DOJ described the civil settlement as based on ability to pay.

Our Take

Genetic-testing kickback cases often start with the same internal friction points: unusually high-volume orders driven by marketers, template-heavy telemedicine encounters, and weak clinical documentation connecting the test to diagnosis or treatment decisions. Insiders commonly have the paper trail: marketer contracts and commission grids, lead lists and scripts, standing orders, physician attestations that don't match chart reality, and billing workflows that treat medical necessity as a checkbox. If your organization is building revenue on "free test" funnels, look closely at the incentives and the documentation discipline—those are where these cases usually break open.

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Notice

The summaries above are based on publicly available information released by the U.S. Department of Justice and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice, investigative findings, or allegations by Disclosure Strategy. Our commentary reflects general, experience-based observations about how False Claims Act matters commonly arise and is not a statement about any party's liability.