BOSTON – A statewide grand jury has indicted Four independent clinical laboratories, two laboratory marketing companies in connection with over $2 million in false Medicare claims to Massachusetts, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s office.
The indicted defendants are:
Vipin Adhlakha, 46, of Westfield, Indiana
- Medicaid False Claims (3 counts)
- Larceny over $1200 by False Pretenses (3 counts)
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates (3 counts)
- Conspiracy (4 counts)
- Money Laundering
Soros Clinical Solutions LLC of Indianapolis, Indiana
- Medicaid False Claims (3 counts)
- Larceny over $1200 by False Pretenses (3 counts)
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates (3 counts)
- Conspiracy (4 counts)
Aria Diagnostics, LLC of Indianapolis, Indiana
- Medicaid False Claims (2 counts)
- Larceny over $1200 by False Pretenses (2 counts)
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates (3 counts)
- Conspiracy (4 counts)
Preferred Laboratory LLC of Worcester
- Medicaid False Claims (2 counts)
- Larceny over $1200 by False Pretenses (2 counts)
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates (2 counts)
- Conspiracy (2 counts)
Alpha Labs, LLC formerly of East Providence, Rhode Island
- Medicaid False Claims (3 counts)
- Larceny over $1200 by False Pretenses (3 counts)
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates
- Conspiracy
Mohammad Afreedi, 64, of Methuen
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates
- Conspiracy
Lab USA, Inc. of Haverhill
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates
- Conspiracy
George Powell, 62, of Londonderry, New Hampshire
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates (2 counts)
- Conspiracy (2 counts)
Summit Diagnostics of Salem, New Hampshire
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates (2 counts)
- Conspiracy (2 counts)
Adriana Sanchez a.k.a. Adriana Vaccaro, 40, of Shrewsbury
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates
- Conspiracy
Eric Fromm, 55, of Norwood
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates
- Conspiracy
Darrolyn McCarroll-Lindsay, 66, of Oak Bluffs
- Medicaid False Claims (3 counts)
- Kickbacks, Bribery or Rebates
- Conspiracy
According to Healey’s office, the central defendant, Vipin Adhlakha, and three independent clinical laboratories that he has owned, Alpha Labs, Aria Diagnostics, and Preferred Laboratory all submitted claims to MassHealth and MassHealth managed care entities for urine drug testing.
Healey’s office alleges that Adhlakha and his companies:
- Engaged in kickback relationships with marketing companies OSA Exports and Summit Diagnostics to increase the number of urine drug tests referred to his laboratories in exchange for a percentage of collected insurance reimbursements in violation of the Massachusetts anti-kickback statute.
- Engaged in a separate kickback relationship with Lab USA, which involved the referral of urine samples for testing in exchange for a percentage of collected insurance reimbursements.
- Submitted claims to MassHealth that were not appropriately ordered by physicians or other authorized prescribers, had false dates on the claims, were for medically unnecessary routine quantitative testing, and/or were for medically unnecessary residential monitoring purposes.
Under state regulations, laboratories may not bill MassHealth for tests performed at sober homes and shelters for residential monitoring purposes because such tests are not medically necessary. By fraudulently billing MassHealth and its managed care entities for these tests, the defendants are alleged to have caused over $2 million in false claims.
Healey’s officer also alleges that OSA Exports, Summit Diagnostics and Lab USA each conspired with Adhlakha and his companies to engage in illegal kickback relationships, which resulted in thousands of claims submitted to MassHealth and its managed care entities.
Adhlakha also conspired with Dr. Darrolyn McCarroll-Lindsay to conduct urine drug testing for residential sobriety monitoring purposes at Massachusetts sober homes.
