A Florida lab owner has been charged with over $50 million in health care fraud related to fraudulent genetic cancer screening tests, Attorney for the United States Lee M. Cortes Jr. announced today.
Daniel Hurt, 48, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is charged by information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He had his initial appearance and arraignment by videoconference today before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Hurt owned several clinical laboratories that conducted or arranged for a variety of medical tests. Hurt paid kickbacks and bribes to various entities who supplied referrals and orders for genetic cancer screening tests (CGX) for Medicare and other health care benefit program beneficiaries, without regard to medical necessity. The laboratories submitted claims for payment to Medicare for these CGX tests. Medicare reimbursed the laboratories without knowing that the services were not medically necessary or were procured through the payment of kickbacks. From January 2019 to October 2021, Hurt, through the laboratories, submitted or caused to be submitted approximately 350,000 claims to Medicare, including approximately 8,700 claims for beneficiaries residing in New Jersey.