The federal investigation has resulted in 53 convictions – 38 of them doctors – in connection with the scheme, which involved millions of dollars in bribes and more than $100 million in payments from Medicare and private payers.
A federal judge in Newark, NJ on Wednesday sentenced a Bergen County physician to 18 months in prison for his role in a far-ranging test-referral bribery scheme, the Department of Justice announced.
Basel Batarseh, MD, of Franklin Lakes, NJ, is the 38th physician convicted in the scheme operated by senior executives at now-defunct, Parsippany-based Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC, federal prosecutors said.
Batarseh previously pleaded guilty to one count of accepting bribes in violation of the Federal Travel Act. He was also sentenced to one year of supervised release, fined him $7,500 and ordered forfeiture of $104,611.
According to documents filed with the court, Batarseh, an internist practicing in West New York, NJ, located across the Hudson River from Manhattan, accepted bribes totaling more than $104,000 from BLS employees and associates between 2007 and 2010.
In exchange, Batarseh generated more than $1.3 million in lab business for BLS.
The federal investigation has thus far resulted in 53 convictions in connection with the scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and private insurance companies.
It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case, DOJ said.
The investigation has recovered more than $13 million through forfeiture. BLS, which is no longer operational, pleaded guilty in June, 2016 and forfeited all of its assets.
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.