WASHINGTON – Justice Department officials said current and past owners of a North Little Rock pathology lab agreed to pay $30 million to resolve allegations of unlawful kickbacks and unnecessary pathological testing.
Officials said the current and past owners of Advanced Pathology Solutions PLLC, Kevin Hannah, Donell Burkett and Daniel Hunter Pledger, agreed to pay the sum following an April 8 complaint filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
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Officials said the three were accused of conducting their scheme from 2015 through July 2022 in violation of the False Claims Act. The violation came from them making false claims to federal healthcare programs, officials said.
The lab would allegedly provide benefits to gastroenterology labs in exchange for exclusive referrals for testing, which federal officials cited as an improper financial relationship. This was followed by the lab ordering special tests before the referring doctor had reviewed the initial test results…