MIAMI, Florida — A 38-year-old man from Lake Worth has admitted to defrauding Medicare by submitting over $52 million in false claims for unnecessary genetic testing. Sean Alterman, who owned two laboratories, pleaded guilty on January 15 to conspiracy charges.
Alterman operated Live Beyond Medical MGMT, LLC and Dynix Diagnostics LLC, where he purchased doctors’ orders for expensive genetic tests through illegal kickbacks, according to court documents. The scheme involved patient recruiters running deceptive telemarketing campaigns targeting Medicare beneficiaries, persuading them to agree to tests to justify fraudulent billing. “Healthcare fraud is not a paperwork crime, it is theft from patients and taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.
The fraudulent operation included a tactic known as “doctor chasing,” where recruiters faxed physicians misleading requests for prescriptions to trick them into authorizing unnecessary tests. Alterman’s laboratories billed Medicare approximately $52 million, receiving about $36 million in payments. He profited roughly $5.5 million, much of which was funneled through shell companies Shivv LLC and Shank LLC…