Former Van Nuys doctor, others agree to pay $15 million to settle fraud allegations – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

A former Van Nuys doctor, medical director and the clinic and lab where they worked will pay $15 million to settle charges that they filed false Medicare and Medi-Cal claims, paid illegal kickbacks and drove patients, according to the Justice Department. – refer.

The DOJ announced Thursday, Dec. 26, that the former doctor, Mohammad Rasekhi of Van Nuys, and an executive who worked for the lab and clinics, Sheila Busheri, and the lab and clinics agreed to pay to settle the claims.

“There is an expectation that providers who receive Medicare and Medicaid funds obey the law and operate with integrity,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric Larson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General.

The charges allege that the defendants “knowingly submitted or caused to be submitted false claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal.”

They allegedly did this by paying commissions to marketers to refer patients to their clinics, paying commissions to third-party clinics to refer Medicare and Medi-Cal patients to their labs, and referring patients from their clinics to their lab when self-report or referral. to an entity with which a physician or a member of his family has a financial relationship is not permitted.

Rewards to third-party clinics for referring patients to their labs were allegedly “above-market rent payments, free and discounted services for clinic staff, and write-offs of balances owed by patients and clinic staff.”

Rasekhi founded Southern California Medical Center (SCMC) and was its medical director and co-owner of Universal Diagnostic Laboratories. Busheri is the Chief Executive Officer of SCMC and co-owner and is the Chief Executive Officer of Universal Diagnostic Laboratories (UDL). SCMC has six clinics in Southern California.

Rasekhi, Busheri, UDL and SCMC are accused of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Physician Self-Referral Act. Rasekhi passed his medical license in December 2024.

Former employees and managers of the labs and clinics filed a claim under the False Claims Act under whistleblower provisions. They filed on behalf of the United States and will receive $5 million in the settlement. The DOJ calls the False Claims Act “one of the most powerful tools” in the fight against health care fraud.

The state of California, which paid some of the claims involved, will receive $7 million.