Doctor and wife admit to genetic testing kickback and bribe scheme
(WBRE/WYOU) — According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, a Pennsylvania doctor and his wife have admitted their roles in schemes to solicit and receive kickbacks and bribes in exchange for ordering genetic tests.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Yitzchok “Barry” Kurtzer, 63, and his wife, Robin Kurtzer, 62, both of Monsey, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Quraishi in Trenton, New Jersey to an indictment charging them with conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
Officials say two of Barry Kurtzer’s employees, Amber Harris and Shanelyn Kennedy, have each pleaded guilty to their roles in the kickback scheme, and Dr. Lee Besen and Kimberly Schmidt have also each pleaded guilty to a related cash-for-genetic tests scheme. Those defendants are currently awaiting sentencing.
The defendants admitted that they and others worked together to solicit and accept kickbacks in exchange for referring expensive tests to particular labs. Bribes and kickbacks have no place in a doctor’s office. Patients need to be sure that their doctor is acting in their interest, uncorrupted by the promise of lucrative bribes and kickbacks. This office is always ready to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who violate the Anti-Kickback Statute are held accountable.”
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger
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According to court documents Barry Kurtzer was a primary care physician with offices in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, area and his wife Robin Kurtzer helped manage those offices.
Officials say beginning in 2018, Barry Kurtzer and Robin Kurtzer solicited and received monthly cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients and sending them for genetic tests to clinical laboratories in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
“Patients trust their doctors because those doctors swear to an oath to do no harm. Ripping off the federal government may not have a direct impact on the patient. It does, however, erode the faith we all have in the healthcare industry, and causes costs to go up for us all. Criminals forget there is a paper trail, and our job in the FBI is to follow it until we catch the culprit,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said.
According to law enforcement, the Kurtzers used their employees in the scheme, including Harris and Kennedy, who each helped collect the DNA swabs in exchange for payments to them. The cash kickbacks ranged up to $5,000, and the Kurtzers typically accepted the cash in one of Barry Kurtzer’s offices, at times behind locked doors.
“When patients visit their doctor, they expect medical decisions to be made in the best interest of their health. These defendants allowed greed to become a part of their medical decision-making which the IRS and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate,” explained Tammy Tomlins, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office.
Court documents read at one point, the Kurtzers complained that they were not getting paid enough and negotiated for higher kickbacks and bribes.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a result of these schemes, Medicare was billed over $1.3 million for tests generated from Barry Kurtzer’s practice.
The charge of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
According to court documents sentencing is scheduled for March 28, 2024.
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