A federal judge ordered Lewes, Del.-based Orthopaedic and Neuro Imaging to pay $16.2 million for Medicare fraud, according to The Sacramento Bee.
Here are four things to know:
1. On Jan. 29, the judge entered a default judgment against the medical imaging company and its owner Richard Pfarr. Prosecutors claimed the defendants knowingly submitted false claims for Medicare reimbursement by having non-physician clinicians administer contrast dye during MRI scans without proper supervision by a physician. Medicare requires a physician supervise patients who are injected with contrast dye in the event of an adverse reaction.
2. Mr. Pfarr is liable for $6.2 million of the $16.2 million judgment.
3. Robin White, an ONI employee from 2002 to 2012, filed the original lawsuit under the False Claims Act in 2013.
4. The False Claims Act permits private parties to sue on behalf of the U.S. and receive a share of any recovery. Mr. White will receive an 18 percent share of the recovery, or $2.9 million.
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