A physician and his wife have pleaded guilty to their roles in a genetic testing kickback and bribery scheme.
Yitzchok "Barry" Kurtzer, MD, 63, and his wife, Robin Kurtzer, 62, both of Monsey, N.Y., pleaded guilty to an indictment charging them with conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback statute, according to a Nov. 22 Justice Department news release.
Dr. Kurtzer was a primary care physician in Scranton, Pa., and his wife helped manage his offices, according to the release. Starting in 2018, the couple solicited and received monthly cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for collecting DNA samples from Medicare patients and sending them for genetic tests to clinic laboratories.
The couple also used their employees in the scheme, including two who pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme, according to the release. The employees helped collect DNA swabs in exchange for payments.
Medicare was fraudulently billed more than $1.3 million as a result of the scheme, the release said.