Three physicians — Abbesalom Ghermay, MD, of Plano, Texas, James Cook, MD, of Richmond, Va., and Daniel Theesfeld, MD, of Longview, Texas — have agreed to pay a total of $534,594 to resolve allegations that entered financial arrangements that influenced referrals for laboratory testing, according to a Jan. 7 news release from the Justice Department.
- Dr. Ghermay agreed to pay $228,482 to resolve allegations that, between January 2016 and November 2018, he received payments from a purported management services organization in return for ordering tests from a laboratory in Houston.
- Dr. Cook and his medical practice, Family Medical Centers, agreed to pay $206,987 to settle allegations that, between February 2019 and February 2021, he received payments disguised as investment returns from a marketing company in return for ordering tests from two laboratories in New Jersey and Virginia.
- Dr. Theesfeld and his medical practice, H8 Pain Management Center of Texas, agreed to pay $99,125 to resolve allegations that, between April 2017 and September 2018, he received payments in return for ordering tests from a laboratory in Houston.
According to the release, two laboratory marketers — Shahram Naghshbandi, of Fort Worth, Texas, and John Bello, of Chesterfield, Va. — were also involved with the scheme.
Mr. Naghshbandi agreed to pay $400,000 to settle allegations of participating in kickback schemes for laboratory referrals. Mr. Bello and his company, RiteRx4U, agreed to pay $140,000 to resolve allegations of paying Dr. Cook kickbacks.