WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Raleigh man has pleaded guilty to paying illegal kickbacks for patient referrals to a California laboratory involved in a massive healthcare fraud scheme and to filing a false federal tax return, federal prosecutors announced.
James Shuford Price III, 59, entered his guilty plea in federal court and now faces up to 13 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He also will be required to pay restitution to Medicare, California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, the Internal Revenue Service and other victims.
According to court documents, Price owned and operated Golden Star Labs, a laboratory in Los Angeles. Between August 2023 and June 2025, the lab submitted more than $96 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal and Medicare for testing related to COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV…