Image Credit: Crestar Labs / Facebook & Charlotte Islamic Academy / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A Nashville area lab owner has been convicted on kickback charges after being exposed in a federal fraud investigation.
Fadel Alshalabi, owner and CEO of Crestar Labs, LLC, in Spring Hill could spend up to five years in prison after being accused of fraudulently billing Medicaid and Medicare for more than $100 million worth of testing that was not authorized by the patients’ primary physicians.
A federal court in Nashville found Alshalabi guilty of 13 counts of money laundering and violating the Anti-Kickback statute back in October. Those charges were originally brought against him in 2021.
According to the prosecution in the case, Alshalabi’s company provided marketing companies with illegal kickbacks in exchange for DNA samples from elderly patients. The marketers would then collaborate with telehealth physicians to obtain signed orders for lab work, including full genetic panels costing over $10,000 each.
Marketers, who were not licensed health care workers, would obtain DNA samples through cheek swabs from nursing home residents, attendees at senior health fairs, and door-to-door home visits in lower income neighborhoods. Kickbacks were then given to the telemedicine companies for gathering signed orders from their physicians. In many cases, the physicians never even saw the patient’s medical history before signing them.
Crestar performed CGx testing that could show a genetic predisposition for certain types of cancer and GTCD, genetic testing for cardiovascular disease. They also ran urine analysis and PGx testing, which can be used to determine what medications will work best for a patient.
Medicare and Medicaid only covered some of the CGx testing for a limited number of patients because it does not diagnose cancer. Additionally, some tests were not covered because they required orders signed by the primary physician.
Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski said, “These defendants’ criminal scheme to pay and receive kickbacks corrupts our country’s health care system.” He added that such schemes “cost the taxpayers millions of dollars that should go to pay for legitimate health care services for the elderly and poor.”
Alshalabi’s attorney Meggan Sullivan argued that he was only guilty of trusting the wrong people, noting that he had offered free COVID-19 testing to needy residents and had never even received a traffic ticket.
“Despite acting in good faith, he was targeted for his association with rogue marketers,” Sullivan said.
After a seven week trial, Alshalabi was acquitted on six additional counts of kickback charges and 12 counts of health care fraud. He could have been sentenced to prison for decades on those additional charges.
Sullivan says she is going to push for Alshalabi to be sentenced to probation instead of jail time, claiming that he was confused over Medicare laws and was not violating them intentionally.
“He never thought he was breaking any laws,” Sullivan said. “He was brand new in the lab business.”
Several other Crestar employees and associates were also charged in the scheme, including former head of sales Edward Klapp, who admitted to his role and testified against Alshalabi. He is also awaiting sentencing.
One Response
I figger they were capturing DNA with the “Covid” swabs.
They’ll have a BIG record of stupidity.