A Missouri man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating a Medicare fraud scheme that generated more than $174 million in genetic testing claims, according to a Dec. 12 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
What happened?
- Jamie McNamara, 50, of Kansas City, owned and operated laboratories in Louisiana and Texas that paid kickbacks to telemarketers and call centers to solicit Medicare beneficiaries for cancer and cardiovascular genetic tests. Orders were signed by purported telemedicine physicians who did not consult with patients, violating federal healthcare laws.
- To conceal the scheme, Mr. McNamara disguised payments as legitimate contracts, rotated billing among labs to avoid detection and falsely listed family members as owners on official documents.
- Over 18 months, his labs submitted more than $174 million in claims to Medicare and received $55 million in reimbursements.
- The government seized luxury vehicles and over $7 million from Mr. McNamara’s bank accounts. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
