A former executive of Little River Healthcare — a critical access hospital in Rockdale, Texas, — and three physicians have agreed to pay $880,199 between them to resolve False Claims Act allegations, including alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Peggy Borgfeld, the former controller, CFO and COO of Little River, was accused of causing the submission of false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare, according to a Dec. 4 news release from the Justice Department. She was allegedly aware that the hospital paid commissions to recruiters who used management service organizations to pay kickbacks to physicians who referred their laboratory tests to Little River; however, she signed false certifications in Medicare cost reports regarding Little River’s compliance with the Anti-Kickback Statute, per the allegations.
Ms. Borgfeld has agreed to pay $325,000 plus additional contingent payments to settle the allegations. She also agreed to be excluded from participation in federal healthcare programs for the next five years.
Three physicians will also pay to settle allegations against them, according to the news release. Dr. Linh Nguyen and Dr. Thuy Nguyen allegedly received thousands of dollars from two management service organizations in exchange for sending their laboratory referrals to Little River Healthcare and two clinical laboratories — one in Framingham, Mass., and one in Frisco, Texas — and will pay $404,813. Dr. Heriberto Salinas will pay $150,386 to settle allegations that he received kickbacks from two MSOs in exchange for referrals to Little River and the Framingham lab.
Ms. Borgfeld, Dr. Nguyen, Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Salinas have also agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department's investigations of and litigation against other participants in the schemes, according to the news release. Five other defendants were found guilty in the kickback scheme on Nov. 30 following a seven-week trial.